1977: I hope I go to Heaven,
by Alone-in-a-dark-Corner
Summary: From the mystical era of the Marauders themselves. Lily, James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus are the main characters as well as a Miss. Suzie Donnelly whom Sirius has been drooling over since well, forever. Takes place during 7th year, after XMAS Vacation.
1. Chp 1: Jail Guitar Doors

Jail Guitar Doors

"Hello Hogwarts, good-bye mum's hippie van!" Suzie Donnelly cried, dropping her luggage.

"Suzie!" shouted James Potter, yelping and pointing to his crushed foot under all of her belongings.

"Oh! I'm sorry James!" she lifted everything off his foot.

"You spent the entire Christmas vacation traveling Europe with your mother in her van?" scoffed Sirius. He was into the whole cocky bastard thing when he was trying to catch a girl's attention, especially Suzie's.

"Yes, it was hell. Although, I must say those guys in Romania were quite lovely…" she lifted one eyebrow at Sirius to challenge him. He ignored her and looked straight at Suzie's older sister, Lucy who was speeding towards them.

"Guess who just asked me out?" Lucy's normally pale and lifeless complexion was a peachy, healthy pink and her eyes were lively again instead of bored and wistful.

"George." Replied Suzie, shoving a piece of gum into her mouth.

Lucy put her hands on her hips. "How did you know?"

Suzie shrugged. "He asked me if it was okay."

"What'd you say?"

"I said: 'you just be sure to fuck her good otherwise she might complain about it to me'. Is that okay?" Lucy gasped and ran off to try to explain Suzie's actions to George Carmichael, a studious Huffelpuff in Lucy's year.

"Back and as vulgar as ever." Lily Evans rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"Back and as prudish as ever." She snapped back.

"Girls, girls. Why can't we just get along?" joked Remus casually.

"You should be happy that we're bickering. If women weren't so catty and didn't hate each other so much they'd take control of the world and would lock all unsuitable men in caves and would only release them during breeding season." Suzie said mildly.

There was mind-numbing silence. The sky flip-flopped from a hazy, robin egg blue to a steal, cool grayish-blue. Slippery snowflakes began to flutter downwards onto the world below. There was no one left, only Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Suzie, and Peter.

"What're we doing out here?" Peter asked, mostly to himself.

Remus adjusted his glasses. "I assume it's your sub-conscious. You see, going into Hogwarts would symbolize and end, or an end around the corner. Everyone except Sirius and Suzie are seventeen, so we're all adults. We'll be making our own decisions soon enough, there will be no more Hogwarts, only each other. And to be quite frank, considering each of our paths, it is highly unlikely that we'll all make it through life all being well and best friends."

"So, Remus, you are mainly speaking for the Marauders and yourself? It's quite rude to be speaking for Lily and I, because, unlike you and your fellow dunderheads, we are just two people, not four. The chances of us being friends throughout adulthood are greater then yours, Peter, James, and Sirius'. Sorry to see the cup half-empty rather then half-full." Suzie snapped, striding off. She pulled her coat tighter around her chin and neck, her dark brownish doused in cranberry coloring flying off behind her.


	2. Chp 2: Are you still Dying my Darling?

Are you still dying my darling?

It was nearly four a.m. and the Marauders were at it again. At James' suggestion, they started an untitled talk-game-type-thing where they would inform each other on their relationship woes. It seemed like a girlish thing to do, but James could never keep his gushing over Lily to himself.

"Genie's looking not so flat-chested this year, Peter. Maybe you'll finally ask her out." James tossed a bag of Wrigley's wiggling Gummi worms at him. Peter took out a handful and shoved them all into his mouth, avoiding the questioning gallantly.

"Lily's looking very under control, James. Maybe you'll finally ask her out and she'll say yes." Taunted Sirius.

"Suzie's looking… well, like Suzie, I suppose." Remus was horrid at the talk-game-type-thing.

"Would you like me to give you some adjectives to describe the apple of Sirius' eye?" James asked.

"Dangerous."

"Good-looking."

"Eccentric."

"Artsy."

"Hot."

"Hot-tempered."

"Eaves-dropper." The boys' door popped open, revealing a tousled haired, glasses-dawned, book carrying, squinty-eyed Suzie. She flashed them all a gloating grin. "I'll forget all about it, you don't worry my dear dick-headed Sirius." She ruffled his hair playfully and sat down, cracking open the book.

"What're you reading?" asked Peter, trying to look over Sirius' shoulder.

"_ 'The Life and Death Brigade,' _by Seamus O'Reilly." She replied, turning the page.

"Why are you up here?" James fixed her a weary glare.

Suzie peered down the bridge of her nose, sighed, and flicked off her glasses. "What? None of you have heard her bloody screaming or Lily's and hers bickering?" they shook their heads. "You must be concentrating rather hard. Remus' lovely wife, Wilma and Lily have gotten in a quarrel."

"She not my wife…" grumbled Remus.

"Go on, Suzie."

"Gee, thanks. So, Remus' wife. Oops, sorry, I mean _Wilma_ was talking shit about Potter over there. I shouldn't really be telling all of you this since you'll probably go ballistic. By the way, Remus, I'd reconsider the marriage license-thing.

So, like I was saying, Wilma and Lily were, and still are, fighting over whether or not James had sex with Penelope Carey. I over course, knowing everything about each of your love lives, said: 'James would do no such thing! He's in love with Lily!' Lily, apparently, didn't like that. She threw her Transfiguration book at my head, and like always, I end up getting hit with it.

So, then, Wilma feels like she should spill about the whole Dandy Curtis thing from last year. Pathetic, right? So Lily starts getting red in the face and she goes on and on about how our young James is still a virgin. Now, personally, I'm a little confused about this whole James Potter being a virgin part. When Wilma asked why Lily cares, there's complete silence. Until I say: 'How do you know about Penelope and James?' Wilma ignored me and started picking Lily apart. I had to escape; otherwise my head wouldn't still be attached to the rest of me."

There was a thoughtful silence. "Suzie, have you ever thought of writing?" Peter finally asked. Sirius hit him in the head to shut him up.

There was a loud, hissing screech and then stomping. "Susanna Donnelly!" it was Lily.

"Shit." Suzie looked at all of them quickly. "No, no, that's ridiculous." She hissed, dismissing the silent suggestion from Remus.

"Suzie!" Lily's footsteps edged dangerously near the boys' dormitory door.

Suzie looked underneath each four-poster bed and ended up choosing Remus since it was the cleanest, to burrow underneath to spare her head from the wrath of Lily Evans.

"Don't look at her arse!" Snipped James when he caught Sirius looking at her butt when Suzie was wiggling underneath to bed.

"Is Suzie in here?" Lily pushed open the door like a secret agent.

Sirius stood up in front of Suzie's hiding spot. Then, he felt something prick into his calf. He muffled his slight screech with his hand. He could feel a trickle of blood down his ankle.

"Are you okay, mate?" asked Peter, as clueless as ever.

Sirius nodded in reply.

"No, Suzie's not here. We'd be glad to tell you when she shows up." James batted his eyelashes virginally.

Lily gave him a suspicious glance. "You be sure to tell her that Problem #1 has been taken care of." She slinked out of the room, her ears pinned up like a cat's, trying to pick up so much as the slightest sound.

"That's what you get for checking me out, Black." Suzie said, trying to act serious, but failing miserably by breaking out in laughter.

Their normal behavior was sewn together: Suzie went back to speed-talking, Peter went back to his bugging, Remus went back to his day-dreaming, Sirius went back to his Suzie admiring, and James went back to his being mysterious.

2: 45 a.m., Monday

"I'm sorry, Sirius." Suzie's voice was a hoarse whisper. They were sitting next to one another. Suzie's legs were kept underneath her, her signature maneuver. Suzie laid her head on Sirius' shoulder.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." he tucked her hair behind her ear. His fingertips rested on her cheek. If he weren't so tired, he would be living in the moment: Suzie's scarce breathing, her raucous heart beat, his fingers grazing over her porcelain cheek.

Suzie sat up straight and faced him, their fingers intertwining. "Sure there is. There's always something to be sorry for. For example, the whole Simon thing, the loud mouthing, the cussing, the unladylike behavior. For completely ignoring you in the way you so dearly wish to be seen."

"Simon was a mistake." He replied, thinking back to Simon Raimes, the heart-stopping lead singer for King of the Jungle. Simon and Suzie had been heated and passionate since about fifteen. Suzie had told Simon about her being a witch; he'd flipped out and smacked her around a bit. Suzie had entered Simon into rehab with the help of his family and had broken up with him as soon as possible. She still had the muggle-stitched up scar on her cheek from Simon smashing a beer bottle there.

"Simon was a disaster." She chuckled nervously, tightening her grasp on Sirius' hands. "A disaster I will not repeat. Sure, you know I'm a witch, but what I mean is that I'm not going to keep anything from you." She made him look her straight in the eye. Her eyes were a light hazel color and were slightly glazed over from reading so much.

"Are you telling me that my feelings are mutual?" Sirius' heart lifted.

"Somewhat." Suzie shrugged.

"Why do girls always play hard to get?" Sirius asked aloud.

"So they can determine whether or not they're wanted. You'll find, Sirius Black that I'm not like most girls. Let's play: 'ask me a question." Suzie whispered once Peter stirred from his corner. James and Remus were both deeply in dreamland.

"Are you a virgin?"

"No," she answered truthfully.

"What attracted you to Simon?"

"He was in a band, he was hot...well he _still_ is hot."

"Do you have any feelings for him left?"

"Besides hatred, no."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Two weeks ago. He had caught up with my mom and I on our trip around Europe. He had come to ask me whether or not I was really a witch or he'd just been drunk. I told him it wasn't true. Then he asked me to marry him. He's a bastard. Alright, my turn to ask the questions." Suzie's eyes glinted at the mention of Simon's marriage proposal.

"Are you jealous of Simon?"

"Hell yes."

"Why?"

"Because he had you."

"How sweet. Now, what do you like most about me?"

"Everything."

"Come on!"

"Fine, fine. That you're you."

"That's practically the same thing!"

"No it isn't." He defended.

"Alright, whatever."

Their game faded into hushed giggles. Suzie laughed, her forehead touching the tip of his shoulder. "Can I kiss you?" Sirius whispered in her ear.

"Do you ask every girl you make out with that question?"

"No."

"Liar." She kissed him first, shocking him a bit.

8:00 a.m., Monday 

"Suzie! Sirius! Fuck! Should we just skip class entirely?" James threw a bunch of pillows at the couple sleeping next to each other on the floor. Their hands were clasped tightly, Suzie was leaning on Sirius. A trickle of drool was on his shoulder.

"Shit!" Suzie zipped out of the room.

"Did you nail her?" pestered Peter, changing into his shirt.

Sirius ignored him, slamming the door to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. Last night wasn't all too clear, the only thing he could remember was the smell of Suzie: warm vanilla with a mixture of mint and how her lips felt against his, their tongues touching.

He shook his head. She'd left him without so much as a good-bye or a kiss or a hug or a gentle touch. He was only left with a: "Shit!"


	3. Chp 3: The Neon Bible

The Neon Bible

Suzie was at the Gryffindor table, tying her shoes and talking to several people at once when Sirius entered. She didn't so much as give him a glance.

Sirius hoped that it wasn't a fluke, that she hadn't been just fooling around with him for a pick-me-up. He sat down next to her. Suzie's eyes flickered in his direction, but she remained silent. "Suzie, you can't not go to the dance!" Lily snapped at her friend.

"I very well damn can." Suzie combed through her knotted hair with her bandaged fingers roughly. "End of discussion." She added before Lily could continue on with her whining spree.

"There're a lot of guys that would murder to attend anything with you." Murmured Lily.

"Yes, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that I'm actually _happy _for once in my life. There's no Simon to fuck it up and there's not going to be another Simon… ever." Suzie grabbed her books and stalked off, her loose tie slipping off from her neck.

Sirius followed her out, picking up the tie on his way. "Suze!" he shouted upon spotting her in the courtyard.

"I take it back, Black." She didn't look up from her book, which was stationed on her lap. Tears began to prickle at her eyes.

Sirius put a comforting arm around her, squeezing her shoulders. "Time is the key. Here." He dropped her tie in her lap and got up, leaving Suzie alone. She sighed shakily and turned the page in her book. At the moment, reading was the only thing that could stop her from making a really big mistake: letting Sirius in.

It was a Hogsmeade weekend. The 7th year's Admission's Ball was in three weeks. People were frantically scrambling. Would Sherry O'Neil be going with Rodger or Lionel? Would Georgina Franklin go with her girlfriend or not go at all? Would a nip-slip happen? Never mind what you should wear, there were much more urgent things to think about!

"Lily, just say yes to James." Suzie pestered.

"No." she was sticking to her first answer.

"I'm in no mood, Lily. I'm also prepared to pay you."

"Let me wear your new dress and it's a deal." Lily tried to stare down Suzie but failed as Suzie's gaze wasn't focused on her at all, but the shaggy-haired, gray-eyed Playboy across the street throwing snowballs at his fellow Marauders.

"Never mind. You and Sirius reconcile and I'll say yes to James." Lily desperately wanted Suzie's smile to reappear, for her spunk to be in abundance, not a ghost.

"Fine." Blank-faced, Suzie got up and strutted to Sirius. A snowball nearly hit her in the head, but she stopped it in midair without a noverball curse. The snowball fell, shattering on the harsh ground.

"I apologize, for whatever I did, Sirius. Let's be friends again so Lily and James can go to the stupid, idiotic 7th year's Admission Ball." She stuck out a bare hand; her fingers were surprisingly warm considering the icy weather. She turned on her heel, going back to her book and her bench.

James was going ballistic with happiness. Lily was a little confused by his enthusiasm, but she wasn't complaining.

The Admission's Ball was speeding up too quickly for Suzie's taste. It would only bring back bitter memories of Simon and of haunting dreams of what her life could be with Sirius as something more than a 'friend'.

She did Lily's hair in ringlets tied elegantly back from her pretty face in a sloppily, but artistically done bun. She put Lily in an emerald green to show off her fire engine red hair. Lily was in charge of her own makeup, but she was clueless about what shoes to wear. Suzie suggested trainers, no one would see them under Lily's floor-length gown, plus they added cushion and comfort.

"Sirius' going to the Ball with Olivia Turner." Lily said.

Suzie bit down on her pencil harder. "That's great for him."

Lily stopped looking herself over in the mirror and sat down in front of Suzie. "You're going to stay locked up in here for the entire night, aren't you?"

"Uh-huh." Suzie said, popping a candy in her mouth.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Suzie got up from her bed and left the room, slamming the door so hard the walls shook, Lily's photographs slipped to the ground in a cluster.

"Miss. Donnelly!" Professor McGonagall shouted when she caught Suzie stuffing her desk with dung bombs. McGonagall grimaced at the putrid smell, but Suzie stood straight and made for the door.

"Do you have a date for the dance?" her professor stayed in control.

Suzie nodded.

"You should tell him that you're not going to be able to go to the Ball. You are to report here at five o'clock sharp and will scrub the desks, without magical assistance. You are to continue with your task until you are finished or until it is nine o'clock P.M. Good evening Miss. Donnelly." Suzie pretended to look as if she were crushed.

Outside McGonagall's office she smiled to herself. Lily would not be able to pester her any longer.


	4. Chp 4: Pools in Eyes

Pools in Eyes

Scrubbing the desks hadn't been as an easy task as Suzie had thought it would have been. Her hands ached and her hair smelled like Filch's cleaning closet. She was tired and restless all at once. And, besides all of this, she couldn't even read: no book could change the fact that Sirius had gone to the Ball without her and with another girl no less!

She envied Olivia Turner. Instead of Sirius' arms being around Olivia, they would be around her.

When Sirius came into the Common Room, Suzie was sitting on the couch, her toes moving to invisible music and reading another book. She was wearing her cherry red glasses, her hair was tied back in a sloppy ponytail, and she wore jeans and a dark blue hoodie over a tight white tank top.

"How was the dance?" she asked, setting down the novel and looking at him.

Sirius' heart skipped a beat and his stomach lurched forward, forgetting the rest of him. She slipped her long legs from underneath her.

"I left." He replied, sitting next to her on the overstuffed sofa.

"Why?" she asked. Sirius put his hand on her leg lovingly. She didn't flinch.

"It was nothing without you." He leaned in close, their lips pushing together. Suzie pulled the elastic from her hair gracefully, letting it tumbled to her exposed shoulders.

What started off as a kiss turned into a full-fledged make-out session. What began as a kiss transformed into a make-out session morphed into going all the way in the 7th year Gryffindor boys' dormitory.

Sirius felt himself jerk awake. He looked to either side of him. No Suzie. Had she left him again? His heart leapt.

"Sex and chocolate, the story of my bloody damn life." A female voice said from the bathroom. Was it Suzie's? Indeed it was, she was in his shirt. "You like?" she joked, displaying a milky-white leg.

"I do." She set aside the chocolate bar she held in her hand and plopped down next to Sirius.

"I'm happy." She stated.

Sirius looked at her. "I'm glad."

"Come on, Black. Ask me why I'm so giddy!"

"Alright then. Suzie Donnelly, why are you so giddy?"

"Because I'm with you. Finally." Suzie sighed, kissing his cheek.

"What about the others?" he asked, suddenly worried.

"All collapsed in the Common Room. I can't wait to hear Lily scream when she finds out that she slept an inch apart from James." She giggled.

Sirius sought after a solemn expression. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you okay with everything?"

Suzie looked away, towards the window. "I dunno. I mean I like the whole part about you, and me but what about the others? You're not like Simon to my family, they _know _you first hand, not from the tabloids. I'm actually _friends _with the Marauders. If something goes wrong…"

"Hey," his voice was soft, like in the movies. "Look at me." She did. "Nothing's going to go wrong."

"I'd better leave now." she looked over her shoulder at him. "By the way. I know. Nothing's going to go wrong on my watch." Instead of a: "Shit!", Suzie left him with a medium-length, top-notch on the passion scale kiss.

Suzie brushed her teeth vigorously. She could still smell the apple cider-ish smell of Sirius' cologne wrapped around her. She changed from Sirius' shirt into dark-wash boot-cut jeans that were the only pair that fit her legs but not so much on the waist, a black short-sleeved shirt with a metallic silver star pattern under a black fitted jacket, and her favorite pair of heels: black with back screens of yellow, green, pink, and turquoise star outlines, a rounded toe, and 1 ½ inch heals.

She felt good to be back to being herself. Was it because she had a boyfriend? That she was in love? Or that she had finally admitted what she couldn't say? It's all of them, she decided upon while tying up her hair in a quick fold-over bun.

It was Saturday and the weather was brisk. Her fellow Gryffindors were drowsily awakening. "Why didn't you wake me up?" Lily asked, stretching.

Suzie shrugged. "I was busy."

Sirius clattered down the stairs behind Suzie. Should he kiss her? He wanted to, but how would everyone react. Nervously, he examined himself: untied shoes, mismatching socks, messy hair, half tucked in shirt, no tie, dirty pants, and he was pretty sure his boxers were showing.

They made a rushed escape. Sirius reached out for Suzie's hand, but she ignored him. She sped up quicker and waited for him outside the portrait hole.

He kissed her. At first, she welcomed it, but then she pulled back.

"Oi! Mate!"

"Told you Padfoot was nailing Donnelly!"

"Maria, don't they make such a perfect couple?"

"Why can't you be all romantic like Sirius, Joey!"

"Shit." They mumbled at the same time. Sirius had left the portrait hole open. Suzie laughed freely. "Okay, you've caught us red-handed."

"Why didn't you just tell us, mate?" James asked, rushing Sirius away. Suzie had to jog to keep up with them.

"Why don't you tell us why you and Evans left the Ball early?" countered Sirius.

"Good point." James said, letting his questions go.


	5. Chp 5: Stare at the Sun

Stare at the Sun 

_Susanna Donnelly, _

_ Remarried is a wonderful, beautiful thing that we should be grateful for, don't you think?  
Congratulations! You have been hereby invited to witness Jacob Donnelly and Kelly Smith take the plunge in holy matrimony! _

_Date: March 16th_

_Time: 2:30 p.m. _

_Your position: Maid of Honor (Horror's more like it) _

_Please invite a guest (I suppose that'd likely be Black right?) _

_ Sincerely,_

_ Soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Jacob Donnelly! _

_P.S. Kelly is thinking pink for the dresses. I'll try my best to change her mind around to say… black. Love, Lucius. _

This was ridiculous. Suzie wouldn't be attending any wedding, especially not her estranged father's to a well-known Ministry gold-digger. There'd be no Maid of Honor (Horror) dress even if it was black.

What was up with the 'Love Lucius' bit? He was a married man already and his wife Narcissa would have Suzie's head if she found out what her husband of four months had written to her.

She picked up her own quill and began writing a reply. It wasn't addressed to Lucius but the infamous Jacob Donnelly himself.

_Dear Jacob Donnelly, _

_March 16th, huh? I imagine thanks to your red-hair and surname Kelly thought you were a big-time St. Patrick's Day fanatic. Hopefully you'll open this (if you do) and will recognize your own daughter's handwriting. If not, don't spaz out about it, I've never written anything to you let alone speak to you in person or over the telephone in a year.  
I'm just writing to tell you that I send my best wishes to you and Kelly, but I'm not going to any damn wedding. Sorry.  
I can't wait for Lucy and mum's reactions. _

_ Yours truly, _

_ Suzie Donnelly _

_P.S. I'm not dating that muggle-arse Simon anymore. Try Sirius Black. Suck on that dick.  
_

After being caught kissing in front of the entire Gryffindor clan, they had calmed their relationship down a bit. Neither of them wanted to flaunt it in front of Hogwarts, otherwise, when everything did go sour between them, it'd be easier for their peers and professors to get used to and see.

A doey-eyed third year with a frizzy mane of red hair trotted up to Suzie and set down a muggle newspaper. "Simon's like in _love _with you!" she squealed and took off to Hufflepuff table.

Sirius looked at the newspaper over her shoulder. It promptly burst into flames, curling up into a fist until Lily splashed a cup of water on it. "Seriously, Suzie, I'd like to see what the muggles have to say about your ex-boyfriend's never-ending love for you. Hey! Lukas Huntsberger! Give me that muggle print!" Lukas handed over the newspaper, he was a wannabe Marauder who would gladly stab himself in the heart just to be reassured that the Marauders would invite him to: "Welcome to the Afterlife" extravaganza.

" 'I miss her a lot. If you've heard our latest song: _Weeping Willows _then you bastards would know how much I need my Suzie.'" Sirius erupted out into laughter.

"Hey you faggot! Simon's a right gentleman! Donnelly was wrong to let him go!" the giggles stopped there.

"Yah Black!"

"Get back together with Simon, Suzie!"

Suzie stood up on the table, a bowl of porridge splattering in Peter's lap. "Hey! Can I get all of your attention!" Suzie shouted. She had their attention. "Thanks. Want to know why I broke up with Simon? Because he freaked out when I told him I could do magic, he was drunk or stoned, I really don't remember, but still. The marijuana should've made it a little bit easier for him to handle." She laughed. "He's an ass really. Now, all of you Suzie-Simon shippers go masturbate in the loo!"

_Hey, _

_ I suppose you've read the newspapers. It's a little weird, right? You going out with your fellow magic-user. Don't worry, I'm sober and I've still got the ring if you'll ever get over our little speed bump.  
_

_ What I told those reporters was true. I miss you like hell. You're everything to me, Suzie. Not having you around for the tour sucks, really badly. The guys miss you too. Mainly because you're their only hope of female-interaction after Rudy (our manager if you don't remember) banned all females besides family members from visiting.  
Write me back soon. Your mom's sending this off for me. Oops. I guess I shouldn't have written that, right? Write soon… please. _

_ Love, _

_ Simon _

_  
Bye,  
_

_ What's going on? Are you and mother forming a little league to try and get us back together? Honestly, I don't want to have to break your heart, but I think it'll make good music so since I'm obviously still your muse, I GOT A FUCKING BOYFRIEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
Don't worry, you'll always be a part of me. Remember the scar on my cheek? The one you planted there by chucking a beer bottle at my face and it smashing?  
Maybe someday. Whatever the hell my heart means by that. _

_ Suzie _


	6. Chp 6: Whip it Whip it Good

Whip It, Whip it Good

"I heard yours and Lily's fight last night." Sirius told Suzie once he found her in the library. Her clothes were crinkled and messy like usual, her tie wasn't missing though, that was a first. Her hair was let down and fell in front of her eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked once she didn't answer.

"_What?" _ She looked up at him, rubbing her eyes. Purple lined her eyes. "Yah, I guess I am… Hey! I can feel my fingers again!"

Sirius frowned. "That's not funny, Suze."

Suzie put a freezing hand on his arm. "Don't worry 'bout me, Sirius. Or rather, don't worry about _us_. Lily's just a little wigged out about the whole 'I've-finally-realized-my-feelings-for-James-Potter'." She got up and kissed his neck. "Is it okay for me to miss the excitement of the rode? Honestly, if I had a good voice or if I could play the bass well enough, I'd form a band and we'd tour the wild world. Simon's my attachment to that, you know. There's no awkwardness between us, that's kind of weird and meaningful all at once. You're my boyfriend and Simon's my friend boy. Got it? Good. See you later." Suzie kissed him once more and took off.

"Sirius. Am I the only one worried about Suzie?" Lucy asked him at lunch. Suzie had skipped the first couple of periods and according to Remus, she was returning for the class after lunch, which just so happened to be the one where she and Sirius sat together.

"No." he replied darkly, stirring his soup.

"Good. I thought you'd thought Simon to be a saint. He's not a bad guy, don't get me wrong. But, Suzie's been arrested twice since she's met Simon, she's certainly already had too much liquor, drugs, and cigarettes. I'd much rather have you as a brother-in-law." Lucy said gently.

"Bugger-off Lucy. Don't go spreading anymore-ludicrous rumors about. Simon didn't bring that joint into the house, Bobby did and you know it because he offered it to you before Stewie took it from him and stomped it into mush. Anyway, Sirius, can I speak to you?" Suzie yawned slightly. She looked better then before, she had painted her fingernails a psychedelic purple.

"I don't like Simon."

"You don't know him. And I didn't expect you to."

"Good."

"Look, Sirius, it's a little weird right now and I don't want things to get all manic between us with secrets. My dad, Jacob, is getting married soon and shit, so that sucks. I want you to know that Simon proposed in Romania." Suzie sucked in her breath. "I, of course, said no, seeing as how there's no rock on my finger. I want you to know what kind of commitment that is in his world. Saying 'I love you' is like breathing most of the time, so is sex. _Most of the time_, it doesn't mean a damn thing. I fell in love with Simon because everything meant _something_. Marriage is like an eternal bond to him. So is being sober. He is, obviously working really, really, hard to get everything back to normal between us.

I want to give him a chance, if you'll forgive me for going on like this and practically saying that Simon's still in love with me. I was wrong to hate him. I'm also wrong to forgive him. If you tell me not to write or talk to him again, I won't. If you say it's okay, then I won't take advantage of your kindness and trustfulness."

"Okay… Fine. But if something happens between the two of you…" Sirius warned.

"I'll come back a dump you on the spot. I'm just kidding! Geez." Suzie kissed him in thanks.

There was a loud booming noise and some loud groaning from the storage closet to their right. Then giggles.

Sirius opened reached for the doorknob. Suzie leapt behind him, holding tightly onto his hand in mock-horror movie pose.

"James!"

"Lily!"

"Lily _and _James!"

"Half naked."

"Oh my god."


	7. Chp 7: Killing an Arab

Killing an Arab

Suzie screamed rather girlishly for herself as she covered her eyes with her hand. James slipped back into his pants and Lily back into her shirt.

"I'm trying to get the image of James' penis out of my head… it isn't working…" Suzie yelped. Sirius laughed.

"Ha Ha. Very funny, Suzie." James scrambled out of the closest, Lily right behind him.

"Hey, that's the girl you've just been caught in a closest with best friend!" Suzie shouted after James after he slumped off. "You, know, Lily, you didn't need to keep a secret from me. I'm the biggest James/Lily shipper in the world!"

Sirius gained a high-pitched nasal-y tone. "No! I'm the biggest James/Lily shipper in the world!"

"Fuck off, Black!"

"Join me in the closest, Donnelly!" He snatched up her hand; Suzie pressed her free hand against her forehead, her palm up.

"We should really start concentrating more on being better friends." He whispered in her ear, as they turned left, on their way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"They wouldn't have told us anything."

"Maybe they would have if we would have asked!"

"We're talking about Lily here. The girl we didn't even know that she was allergic to bees until she was stung by one!"

"Okay, I've got your point Suze."

"You're just saying that to shut me up!" she looked at him with wide-slightly, mock-enraged eyes.

Sirius tried to hold back a goofy smirk. "No I'm not." They both broke out into bemused laughter.

Suzie's laughter suddenly stopped. "I'm in love with you, Sirius Black." It was no part of speech in existence. Not a question or a statement or an exclamation. Rather, it was thought. Something that had been meant to be heard in her mind and not out loud, but it had traveled into the air and there it stayed momentarily.

"What? Am I delusional or what? I'm serious, Sirius. Say something or adios ex-amigos! That's about all I know of Spanish-or Mexican, whatever that language is. Okay, never mind, Black. I don't want no pity love ya too." Suzie took off. Whether they were still on good terms or not, Sirius couldn't be certain. This was so like Suzie from the Sidewalk.

_Deary Simony,_

_It's so good to know that you've rekindled my fan club. I guess I should congratulate you on your album release as well as making Head Suzie back at the club!_

_You've got my stamp of approval on __Weeping Willows too, you Son of a Duck!_

_Sirius (my boy-toy/boyfriend) is checking over our letters so be careful and don't talk about how I've been cheating on Sirius with Bobby's pet rock, Billy…_

_Hey, remember Linda's beach house in Tahiti? What about when Bobby and Kevin thought'd it be funny if they brought home lobsters and set them free for "musical inspiration" and Linda's then boyfriend, Choc-O flipped out, jumped on the kitchen table and pissed himself? That's all I can think of today._

_How're the guys? Is Kevin still loving the single life, does Gates still have Liberty shave his legs before a gig, does Stewie still have sex with every groupie under twenty-two? Are Bobby and Danni still married? You're my only connection to the Jungle, King! Help me!_

_ Suzie-Q_

_P.s. This is Sirius, Suzie's boyfriend. I don't mean to rub it in your face or anything. I'm not going to monitor __all of your letters, only the ones I know about._

_P.s.s. This is Suzie. Funny how all our names begin with an 'S'. We could be triplets… but that would be nasty and crude, wouldn't it? Sirius' bark is worse than his bite unless your Severus Snape, but that's another story for another time and or letter. Since you're not a Snape, I wouldn't worry about Sirius Cuddlekins. Only 5 more months 'til freedom!_


	8. Chp 8: Hungry like the Wolf

_ -!- Author's notes -!- Yay! I've gotten a lot accomplished today! I know the title of the next couple of chapters and what the next volume is going to be for 1978!!!!!!!!!_

_Unfortunately, I need some of you guys' help with opinions. Do you want Simon to win over Suzie's heart or Sirius?_

_Honestly, I can plow either way or no way, but I want to know your opinions! Just just send a quick review. Thanks!!  
_

Hungry Like the Wolf 

Back to the Story...

It was Simon's birthday and all the old memories flowed back into Suzie's mind. How had they spent his last birthday?

Oh, yes. Suzie's mom had gone skiing in the Alps with her then boyfriend and now husband, Tim she'd broken both of her legs and her wrist, she had also broken a rib. She laughed a lot though, so Suzie couldn't be bothered with the thoughts of terror, of life without her mother. Tim was supportive and Lucy had done most of the worrying for her anyhow.

She'd almost forgotten about Simon until he'd stopped by the hospital and reminded her about the day they had planned. Simon had been eager to stay with her and pig out on Tim's gourmet deserts including: the best sugar cookies in the world, layered creamy chocolate cake, and homemade chocolate fudge ice cream that'd be sure to freeze your face.

Would Sirius ever do that for her? Suzie dismissed her negative thoughts as she dressed in longish black shirt that was thicker then it looked over a cream white shirt, a black leather jacket, tight blue jeans, and scuffed and buffed kick-ass black almost-combat-boots-but-not-so-much boots.

It'd taken a little while to get used to apprating, but Suzie'd gotten the hang of it. Instead of the dirty, grungy floo way of things, she'd crackled off to her mother's and Tim's.

The house was candy pink, but it was a historical house so it didn't bother Suzie too much. There was an empty tire swing where she and Lucy used to spend their dog days lounging beneath the gauzy shadows of the trees. Now the swing belonged to their half-sister, Natalie. Natalie looked like Tim: tall and gangly with an unruly mop of golden blonde hair. Natalie was the only tanner of the family, though; she could step out on a brisk spring evening and turn a lovely ginger brown shade. Their mother, Felicity used to be able to do such things, but once she hit the big 4-0, she'd stopped taking so many risks… but that didn't mean that Suzie didn't get at least four emergency hospital calls from Tim every year.

Felicity Liam and Jacob Donnelly had met in a weird sort of way. After all, Felicity was a muggle. She'd been searching for a way out of her boring, mundane lifestyle all of her life and when she caught Jacob doing a fair amount of magic at the local pub; she'd sought him out and threatened to expose him if he didn't introduce her the ways of a wizard.

They soon found themselves in a very nasty predicament. Jacob was engaged at the time, professional dancer, Penelope Dupree when Felicity announced she was pregnant. Jacob dropped Penelope like a hot potato, showing the first signs of his eagerness to not only please but also drop women like they didn't mean a thing. Which they didn't, not to Jacob anyway.

Jacob's parents, Luis and Kendra Donnelly demanded that Felicity and their son get married as soon as possible. The next month, they had a lavish ceremony in Ireland. They brought a roomy home in Wales and prepared to settle down. A large sum of money was always flowing in from Jacob's affairs. They had two daughters, Lucinda and Susanna Donnelly within the next six years.

Two months after Susanna's birth, Jacob was caught cheating by the Donnelly maid and she reported to her employer promptly. The divorce was finalized the next May.

In 1970, Felicity met the baker extraordinaire, Timothy Welsh, they married the next year. In 1972, they gave birth to a daughter, Natalie Welsh.

Simon was there, watching football (soccer) on the television, his feet on the coffee table. Natalie was thumbing through a toy magazine on the recliner besides him.

Suzie took a moment to soak everything in before stepping into the Welsh home. Simon's dark corkscrew hair hiding dazzling green eyes that made girls' knees everywhere tremble and collapse underneath them in a heap. He was wearing a leather jacket over a white button-up shirt, he'd dressed up just a tad for her. Suzie smirked at that fact.

"Suzie!" Squeaked Natalie, sitting up straight in her chair.

Simon's eyes rushed to hers, then his cheeks glowed bright red. She laughed and jumped away as Natalie fell to the ground, the side of the recliner cushioning the fall.

"My darling, daughter!" Felicity Liam-Welsh stood there in the flesh. Her gleaming pure blue eyes they were almost white, her mousy brown hair still not showing any signs of graying let loose.

Mother and daughter hugged briefly. "Where's Tim?" Suzie had to admit, she missed her stepfather a little as well.

"Oh, he's at the bakery. Mrs. Creedy had an emergency." Felicity waved it off.

"That means mommy's going to order pizza!" Natalie piped up.

"We'd better be going." Said Simon quickly.

"You're right." Suzie added.

Felicity beckoned Natalie into the kitchen and winked at Simon, not intending for her daughter to catch that.

Suzie clattered down the front steps. "She winked at you! What the fuck does she mean by that?" she pouted. Simon chuckled softly, so far he hadn't said anything to her. His fingers zipped across her palm. She tried to ignore him.

"What do you want to do?" he asked, his fingers sliding into hers. She winced a little.

"It's your birthday."

"I know."

Neither of the spoke for about five minutes. They walked, hand in hand around the dwindling neighborhood that was soaking up the left over daylight like a greedy sponge.

"It's like we can't talk unless we've made out five minutes before." Simon suddenly burst out.

"Want to try?" asked Suzie half-kidding, half-serious.

"But…"

"I've got a boyfriend." She made it seem like Sirius was something or rather, someone dragging her down.

"Yah."

Fifteen minutes of walking around the block. "Suzie."

"Yes?"

"Do you want to go the flat?"

"Is that some kind of new club?"

"No. It's just so it won't sound like I want you to sleep with me." He said honestly.

"Hey Simon." Suzie stopped walking.

"Yes, Suzie?"

"Can you tell be only the truth and nothing but the truth when I ask you this question?" he nodded. "_Do _you want me to sleep with you?"

A blush crawled to his cheeks and he looked at his shoes. His voice was groggy. "Yes."

Suzie looked at him, trying to get past those eyes. She couldn't. She _wanted _to kiss him. It was an overwhelming feeling, a feeling that needed fulfilling.

"Simon. I'm sorry. It's the wrong time."

"Yah, I know." He sucked in his breath and he was suddenly enraged. "Why can't you make it the right time, Susanna!" he'd never called her by her real name.

"What the hell is your problem?"

"Everything!" he growled. "I've tried like hell to win you back! I don't give a fucking damn about this Sirius bastard! I'm in fucking love with you, Suzie! I hate to sound like a…"

It began to pour like hell down upon them the minute Suzie said to hell with it and kissed him anyway.


	9. Chp 9: Raise the Roses

Raise the Roses

"Oh yes, Bobby-Boy, I would so say Suzie-Q and Simon are the perfection duo once again!" shit. It was Kevin, the comedic bigmouth.

Sure, Suzie emerging out from Simon's room with her hair messed up, wearing Simon's favorite leather motorcycle jacket was not one of the more innocent predicaments Suzie had landed herself into around Bobby, Kevin, and Gates.

"You forgot you shoe… Hey! Didn't I tell you guys to forget about practice?" Simon was shirtless. Man, that helped her case. The three Musketeers snickered like hyenas. He scratched his head, tilting it sideways, then, seemingly taking in the seen, he slipped on a shirt hanging on the doorknob.

"I guess it was really passionate loving making." Bobby whispered to Kevin. The two belly-laughed until Bobby fell over off the kitchen stool.

"Yes, you did tell us it was canceled." Gates finally answered, pushing up his glasses.

"We thought you'd be entertaining…"

"And that you'd share…"

"But now that we see that you were thrilling our Suzie…"

Suzie took her shoe from Simon. "Oh no you did'int!" he did the head bobbin' finger snap like a true geeky white boy should.

"Kevin meant his comment in a brotherly manner, I am sure." Saved Gates. Suzie slipped her shoe on. "I've got to go _brothers. _Be sure to give Stewie a twister for me!" she slammed the door from the flat with a sharp bang.

* * *

Sirius' head hurt… a lot. All he could remember was picking up the Daily Prophet, seeing Suzie and that Simon twit _kissing _in the bloody rain like it was some kind of chick flick, shredding up the paper, telling himself it was all a big fucking lie and that Suzie would explain it all. Then the feelings of ignorance flooded through him. 

He'd been so eager to believe her that she'd hated Simon but he should have seen the way they so weren't done as a couple. They should have had a long stretch of land to go. He'd snuck into the girls' dormitory, punch drunk and stolen into Suzie's belongings, found the letters Simon had sent her. It was like a dark puzzle that he was rushing the finish, but he didn't want to. It hurt way to bloody damn much.

The memory of Jenna then came. He was pretty sure that they had had sex and waking up in his bed starch naked confirmed that. Any chance of Suzie forgiving him and vice versa was eliminated.

"He's a bloody fucking bastard!" it was Suzie's voice in the hall by the door. His head split open.

"You shouldn't go kissing singing muggles in the rain, Suze!" that was James.

"Black should have had more fucking control over himself!" she stomped away.

"Hey, don't listen to that crap, mate." James' voice was hoarse, but soft from putting up an obvious fight for him.

He sat up in the bed, cradling his pounding noggin in his hands gingerly. "I blew it."

The door busted open. "NO YOU FUCKING BLEW IT UP!" Her hand covered her eyes. "No, I fucking blew it up but you added to it. Simon we could have worked over, but Jenna Kelly too. I don't think so." Suzie choked back tears of spitefulness, anger, helplessness, and several implacable emotions. She ran off, shaking her head.

Sirius pulled on his boxers, a shirt, pants, and socks in record time. Suzie was in the corner, rolled up in a bulky ball. "I shouldn't have gotten into any of this. I shouldn't have let myself fall for you and still be in love with Simon all at once." She hiccupped.

He hugged her tightly. "Shhh…" Sirius tried to ignore his own tears.

"Simon and I…"

"I know."

"You and that bitch Kelly!" Suzie growled.

"I know." He couldn't believe it himself.

"I assume there was no… protection?" she was right.

"What about you and Simon?" His heart broke in half.

"Yah."

"Oh." No, now it was thirds.

"Everything's a mess."

"I know." Fourths.

"I can't do this with you anymore." His heart was gone.


	10. Chp 10: Life in Plastic, it's Fantastic!

_I've wanted to start writing this all day! Thanks to fucking school I've been away learning about whatever I'm supposed to be learning. Finals are tomorrow. Lucky me. Does anyone watched: "The Black Donnellys"? Honestly, I've toyed with a few mafia related twists in the story that would make sense. See if you can figure it out! _

* * *

Life in Plastic, it's Fantastic! 

It was February vacation and that meant Suzie's birthday on the 23rd. She'd go out with Simon on Saturday, then Simon and the band and Stewie on Monday night. Felicity, Tim, Natalie, and Lucy all Tuesday. Jacob was scheduled for Wednesday and her fellow Order members on Thursday. That left Friday and Saturday to do whatever she wanted.

Ever since the Sirius – Suzie – Simon love triangle scandal collapsed, it was all- good for Suzie. Simon didn't ask any questions for which she was grateful and she'd done her best to ignore Sirius and still be mutually close and yet distant friends.

Jenna had bragged about the sexcapade thing for weeks until she skipped her period. It'd nearly scared Sirius to death but it was a million time worse for Suzie considering they'd still been 'together' while the Jenna-Sirius bonding was going on. Many of the Simon/Suzie shippers had made intricate timelines.

Jenna dropped out quickly, but the entire school body heard that the baby was actually Wes Channel's, not Sirius', like the timelines had stated. Wes was the Transfiguration teacher's assistant. Dumbledore fired him on the spot.

Suzie could still feel Sirius gaze locked on her once in a while when she spoke to someone or walked with her back to him.

There was a captured flame between them, like a candle covered by a glass with punctures. If you allowed time to mend the holes, the flame would be snuffed, but if you allowed the flame to roam, it would be there, but would be dull with the need for freedom.

I you get this, you've got a strong grasp on what Suzie's and Sirius' relationship was like.

* * *

"Are you sure they're not home?" Suzie asked, taking a breather from their snogging session.

"Forget about them." Simon pressed his fingertips on her left hip, traveling up her waist and finding their way to her bra strap.

"Simon!" She snapped, pulling his fingers back down. "Fucking headlights." She pointed to the yellow haze of headlights in the rain.

"Your room?" He asked, nodding his head toward the stairs.

Suzie nodded, rushing up the stairs, and then realizing the condoms on the coffee table and grabbing them in a flurry. Simon had cued the head-pounding, mosh inspired music that she hated but kept for Simon.

She kicked the packets under bed, took out a book, and sat down on her bed with Simon next to her, handed him the book, laid her head on his shoulder, and waited for the rapping at the door from Lucy.

When it came, Lucy looked a little more flower-child then normally with afro-inspired blonde hair, bug blue eyes caked with pink mascara, a tight little mini skirt with a cutesy flower pattern, a thick headband bushed back her might bush of hair. She was wearing clunky white platform boots, a Big Ben T-shirt, and a tan frilly jacket. "Good, God! How can you two concentrate on a book with this satanic ruckus?" she turned down the music and skipped off, nearly tripping.

"What're we going to do now that my folks are home?" Suzie pushed aside the book.

"We could…" he fingered towards the bed.

"Not with Natalie!"

"Let's go out then."

"What can we do with them fuckers?" Suzie lifted up the curtain, bulbs flashed and Simon laughed.

"Nothing. Which is why I'm going to sneak out an meet the guys for a round of drinks. I think you should come though… just in case I drink too much…" he begged mockingly.

Suzie rolled her eyes. "Alright. Ground rules: no dancing. No drugs. No bobbies, no strippers, and I'm sleeping over. Don't wet yourself, I'm sleeping over on the _couch_."

"How about you sleep in the bed with me, but there's no sex."

"Deal." They shook on it.


	11. Chp 11: I Want Candy

I Want Candy

For the first time in months Suzie realized what was around her neck. It was a Celtic symbol for: "Sweet Visions" that her father had given to her for her eleventh birthday. She hadn't taken it off since.

Felicity always said that one day someone who hated her would come up to her, and push the sharp, pointed spiraling ends of the necklace in between the flesh of her should blades and kill her. She'd always laughed.

"Do you miss him?" asked Simon, tightening his hands on the steering wheel.

"Who?" she toyed with her Visions necklace, stroking the cool metal felt good.

"The big-guy."

"The big-guy who?" Suzie knew whom he meant, but just to aggravate him a little more she would play dumb.

"Jacob Donnelly. You're birth father." Simon squinted at the road in the thick, foggy gauze it was difficult to see anything.

"No." she replied stiffly. Unlike most girls, Suzie didn't like talking about mushy-shit and Simon bringing Jacob up only made her want to crawl into a shell and forget about his questions. Why'd he still think that she was some screaming fan girl who gushed about how good her daddy was to her?

"Okay." He didn't want to voice his opinion, obviously afraid that Suzie would do her whole magical witch dance and punish him for his contrasting thinking.

"Good save."

When they arrived at the pub, you couldn't see anything, even Suzie and Simon who were standing right next to each other had grasp each others hand not to fall or bump into any switchblade bared hobos wandering the streets.

"Suzie and Simon! The Mud-Couple!" Stewart "Stewie" Kenmore had his stout, thick legs plastered to the wobbling wood table, his large arse sagging off the sides of the chair he was plopped on.

Four busty blondes with scented lip-gloss, bug-eyes, too much make up and wearing skimpy whore outfits consisting off a cheap knock-off of leather mini skirts, ultra-skyscraper high heels the color of bubble gum, and stomach-flashing loose blouses tied above the naval swarmed around Stewie.

"Girls, meet England's latest-and-oldest power couple: Simon Costello and Suzie Donnelly. Power couple, this is Bunny," Stewie pointed to the more flat chested of the four, her hair was definitely a wig.

"Lollipop," He pointed to the bottle blonde wearing a red plastic number that pushed her boobs together and out.

"Chocolate," a full-lipped, blue-eyed African American girl with glittering blue eye shadow.

"And Rainbow," Rainbow was wearing a cinched corset, making her head look as if it was about to pop.

"Uh… nice to meet you all?" Simon raised is eyebrows. The girls giggled.

"Suzie!" said Chocolate. "Isn't Stewie yummy?" she rubbed his bared chest.

Suzie looked to Simon who was stifling his laughs. "No?"  
The four girls pouted, then, with Stewie's drunkard's laugh of approval, they began a chorus of squeals.

Stewie's phone ringed and the room was silent.

"Hullo?"

"There's a situation outside yours and the Foxes position." It was a security guard, Benjamin Bradley.

"Alrighty." Stewie hung up. "Foxes, we'd better be leavin' this joint. I know the perfect place. Hey! You'd two should leave too. It's," he hiccupped. "gonna be a long way 'ome if yaw don't." He stood up, tipping a little. Holding onto his stomach, he tossed the keys to Bunny, his favorite. "You drive the convertible."

Bunny squealed, Suzie winced.

"Let's head back to the flat, mmkay?" asked Simon. "I just came here to check up on Stewie." They shuffled out the door.

The fog had thinned a bit, but it still took them a good fifteen minutes to navigate their way to where they'd parked the car.

* * *

Suzie had suggested a movie night and, being the perfect boyfriend Simon was, he obliged. They watched "The movie without a Name," and "Dracula," which was Suzie's personal favorite.

During Dracula, Suzie leaned towards Simon. Her head ached from popcorn and soda. "I need to tell you something."

"Uh-huh?" his eyes were practically glued to the television.

"It's fucking important, twit!"

He focused on her. "Get on with it."

"I love you." She'd never once said it to him. It'd always been a head nod or a: 'what' or she'd launch into another conversation.

Simon smiled like he'd finally broken the spell. "I thought I was alone on that one." He chuckled.

Suzie wiggled down a little and rested her head on his shoulder.

Suzie woke up late, like eleven a.m. late. If she didn't rush, she would miss her lunch with Jacob and he'd go on a tyrant and turn all of London upside down to find her. Where the hell was Simon?

* * *

_Suzie, _

_Something came up with Kevin and Bobby. The fucking idiots. I shouldn't go on a rant about them, should I? Well, while I'm writing this, I'm also looking at you sleeping and it's about 5:15 a.m. leave it to Kevin and Bobby to screw up my sleeping patterns. _

_You have the thing with Jacob, this afternoon, right? I probably won't be at the flat until… well, I dunno. It depends. _

_By the way, I love you too, if you were wondering. _

_Love, _

_Simon_

* * *

Suzie smiled. It was good to be loved. 


	12. Chp 12: Pandora's Box

Pandora's Box

The music was loud, way too loud for Jacob Donnelly's taste. He preferred jazz and made some Stones and Beatles here and there. He was a much classier guy then whomever his daughter Susanna was dating nowadays.

He patted his pocket, making sure the letter she had sent him was still there. It'd fazed him a bit, her hatred of him. But when Kelly explained it all to him, it'd made since. He had cheated on Susanna's mother, he had been engaged several times, and he'd dragged both of his daughters through all that muck.

What else would she say if she found out about the family business? Would she embrace is like he hoped, or would she go and rat them all out? He'd chosen a good place if she screamed, the music would water the scream down.

He was a little unsettled when he spotted his little Suzie. She wasn't so little anymore. Her hair was longer and darker, her skin paler and less freckled, and she still had her spunk and charisma. She was wearing thick cherry red horn-rimmed glasses and combat boots. She carried herself with too much pride and too much self-assurance. But her smile contradicted it all. It was a lovely, mind-numbing smile. Jacob Donnelly could only imagine how many young men had fallen under the spell of that smile.

"Hullo, Jacob." She sat down.

"Call me dad."

"Why?"

"Because I am your dad."

"Why?"

"Do I have to go through this with you?"

"No." Suzie smirked again.

"Happy birthday." He pulled an envelope from his coat pocket. He'd just cut a deal with Rocky earlier in the week and he was living large. So why couldn't his favorite daughter too?

Suzie took the envelope and skeptically looked it over. "This isn't laced with any explosives is it?"

The two laughed. "Do you care for this racket?" asked Jacob, spreading his arms wide.

Suzie shrugged. "Not this song. Yellow Bird sucks. However, the song coming up is pretty good. The Clash rocks." To Jacob, this was gibberish. What was Yellow Bird? Who was the Clash?

"Don't worry, Jacob. I don't expect an old crusty like you to be up on the latest punk revolution." He thought she was kidding, but he couldn't be too sure. She pocketed the money without so much as a glance. He would have to teach her a few tricks or two about pocketing cash.

"Can I talk about how I make my fortune?" Jacob's hands broke out into a sweat.

"Sure, why not?" Suzie was desperate for conversation. At least he wasn't sinking so low as to ask how Felicity was.

"I'm in the mafia."

"We're not Italian." She replied, not so much as blinking. Suzie's fingers trembled underneath the table. Fuck him! He was going to get them all kicking the bucket!

"I know. I'm in the Irish mafia."

"Lovely." She rolled her eyes. "I suppose this is a traditional talk. You're supposed to introduce your son to all this shit. I'm not your son and I'm definitely not going to be getting anymore publicity for being involved with the fucking Irish mob!" Suzie's voice rose to a significant level.

"Calm down." He hushed. "I'm a deal-breaker. I won't get into any details. Do you remember Seamus O'Reilly? The man who writes all those books you love. Well, he also runs the neighborhood." He shouldn't have told her. He'd made the wrong decision. Seamus was right.

Suzie tightened her grip on the table. "Look, Jacob, I'm not getting involved with any of this. Not one bit. You keep your mob business away from mine. Besides, you're a wizard; you can get yourself out of any bit of trouble. No more talking about this, okay?" she bit her lip in thought.

Jacob let out a breath. "I don't have any magic anymore."

Suzie squinted; he practically could see the steam pouring out her ears. "Why the hell didn't you tell me about this! When did you get your magic revoked?" she leaned on the table with her elbows.

"After I was caught cheating in a Las Vegas casino about last Christmas. That's where I met my Kelly." He was trapped in a memory. One of the most delirious memories he had had the pleasure of looking back on in a long while.

"Susanna Donnelly!"

"Miss. Donnelly!"

"Over here!"

"Hey! Who's that man?"

"Have you heard about Simon Costello?"  
"Why aren't you with him?"

The paparazzi attacked, shoving their microphones and cameras in her face. What had happened to Simon? "What's going on?" shouted Jacob. "By the way, I'm Susanna's father!"   
"What fucking happened to Simon!" Suzie stomped onto the rickety table and screamed her message.

"He's at St. Anne's Hospital. He was in a car crash."


	13. Chp 13: Anesthetic Parade

Anesthetic Parade

So maybe Suzie shouldn't have reacted the way she had with wide-eyes and a bad case of twitching and the overwhelming feeling of helplessness and self-appointed anger. How was she supposed to get the fucking hospital? What was wrong with Simon?

She realized why Bobby had suggested that she take up smoking. "Would you like me to drive you there?" Jacob remained calm throughout the process of it all while Suzie brought a pack of cigarettes from the counter.

"Those things'll kill you." He mentioned.

"So will the mafia." She snapped with enough venom to shut him up.

The drive was the longest one of her life. It felt like she was a fish: stuck in a bowl, forced to swim around in circles until her owner over fed her.

"Who're you here for?" a frumpy young receptionist with bring orange lipstick croaked.

"Simon Costello." Wheezed Suzie.

The receptionist looked up to confirm it. "Go right in! The family's in the waiting room right over there."

"Thank you." Jacob smiled warmly as Suzie ran to the doors.

"Suzie! Thank God!" Gates was there, his head in his hands. He shot up and hugged her until she felt like her ribs were going to snap in half.

"What happened?" she couldn't cry. Was she supposed to be bawling like Simon's mum? Why were Danni Fairchild and Kevin's parents and siblings here? "No way…"

Danni looked up and snuffled. "Fucking Bobby. I told 'im to get sober otherwise he'd kill somebody…"

"Is someone dead?" Suzie's voice was lost.

"No," Gates reassured.

A prim and proper nurse emerged from another set of doors. "They'll be alright." Was the first thing she said. Weights lifted off their shoulders. "Mr. Costello's very lucky he was buckled up, he's got some major bruises and abrasions as well as a broken wrist, and some head trauma. Mr. Rodgers has sustained the most injuries including a piece of glass penetrating into his right eyeball and a broken neck, his injuries are very similar to those of Mr. Costello. Mr. Parker was in the back seat and is fine except for a broken arm. Only three visitors at a time. By the way, Miss. Donnelly, Mr. Costello wishes to see you."

"I'll be here, Suzie. If you need me." Promised Jacob. She nodded and took off with Gates and Danni who were at the moment, the only mobile ones.

"Hey, Danni, I've got an eye patch!" Bobby pointed to his eye with a cast hand.

_I'm not speaking to you_, Danni signed.

"Well, why not?"

_Because you've got a drinking problem. _

Their fight continued on.

* * *

Suzie sat next to Simon whose eyes were closed. "Get them to fucking quiet down." He said from the corner of his mouth.

"Hey, can you two quiet it down?" she snapped.

They continued their argument in sign language.

"I love you, Simon Costello." She kissed her finger and gently pressed it to his temple.

"You must be scared to death." he looked up at ceiling and sighed shakily. "Kevin and Bobby had gotten kicked out of this bar on 79th Street and they'd 'forgotten' and went in. Bobby got the shit beat out of him, so did Kevin. They hopped to a club down the street and got wasted," Simon swallowed. "The bartender called me. I went to go pick them up. Kevin gets violent when he's drunk you know. So I put them in the car. Bobby covered my eyes and we drove into a wall."

"So it's Bobby's fault?" she was boiling over in anger.

"No."

"You didn't do _anything _Simon! Don't you dare think that otherwise I'll need to beat the crap out of you when you're done healing from these injuries!"

He hoarsely laughed. "Do you know why I'm utterly in love and obsessed with you, Suzie Donnelly?"

"No. Frankly, I think I'm rather annoying."

"Because you're funny, bloody brilliant, clever, your wit is astounding, you haven't slept with Stewie, you're willing to speak the truth, you're a bookworm, you can argue like hell, you're always there, you turned down my marriage proposal, you know what to do in situations, you never get freaked out, you're a rock, you've made it through everything, and there's so much fucking more." He put his unbroken hand on hers.

Tears slid down her cheeks. "I shouldn't…"

"No, you should. Otherwise I might have to start to worry that you're not human." He brushed the tears from her eyes. "I hate hospitals."

"Ditto. I prefer morgues." They both laughed sullenly.

"I'm sorry, Suze."

Sirius used to call her that. Her head pounded. She wasn't supposed to be thinking of her ex-boyfriend while her boyfriend was in the hospital! Shit her life was like a viewer begging soap opera with too much drama and tackiness and tragic hospital love scenes in every episode.

"That was vague."

"No it wasn't."

"What are you sorry for then."

"Mostly everything."

"See, that _is _vague."

He sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head softly. "I'm an asshole. You were in a relationship with that dude with the weird name and I screwed that up ---,"

Suzie stopped him. "No, that dude with the weird name screwed it up by cheating. Besides, if I weren't in love with you, I wouldn't have come back. Believe me, I would have just taken off and never spoken to you again. Trust me, I can be a real bitch like that." Gates left the room after a heated discussion with Kevin.

"Holy shit! I know that walk! Get Stewie on the phone and tell him to talk down Gates. He'll know what I mean." Electricity appeared in Simon's eyes.

"Is Gates thinking of quitting the band, Kevin?" asked Suzie.

Kevin didn't talk. "He's beat up pretty bad." Whispered Simon. Suzie nodded.

"Look, if King of the Jungle breaks up. It's all right with me. As long as you don't get all depressed, get fat, die at twenty of a heart attack or failure, go back to being a druggie, team up with some shitty pop singer to record a new single, cheat on me, or anything of the like." Suzie instructed, holding up a finger.

"Hey. Tell my parents I'm asleep, okay? I'm not in the mood for their shit." Aimee and Andrew hovered near the door.

"You've got it. I need to ask you something. Is it alright for me to hang around here all day since I'll be the one to save Danni and Bobby's marriage?" she asked.

Simon nodded. "You've got it babe."


	14. Chp 14: The Sweetest Chill

The Sweetest Chill

The hospital coffee sucked, it tasted like burnt Styrofoam and blood. Suzie had burnt her tongue on the dangerous liquid so badly she had to go see a nurse at the Walk-In section of the hospital.

Danni poured more Vodka into her own cup of coffee and took a deep breath. "Suzie-Q, can I ask you something?" Suzie looked up from her book and took off her glasses.

"Sure."

"How do you deal with the whole music biz thing?" Danni seemed to be fading in the tacky breezy green colored walls splashed with bubble gum pink polka-dots with Doctors and nurses rushing out of room with plastic hair nets and booties and dying Crusties hooked up to IVs.

Normally, Danni's pixie-cut white blonde hair, brown leather jacket with dozens of chains, striped leggings, short skirts, and cleavage bearing shirts made her pop the way she was known to pop. Now she just looked tired and pale.

Did she have to answer this question? "Music's always been a part of my life and I knew that I wanted to be involved in some way. When I met Simon, he kept the whole singer thing a secret so I'd kind of have to love him for him, you know? When he introduced me to the guys, I wasn't shocked. You can tell an artist from a regular citizen easily. I just kind of soaked the lifestyle all in. Sure, I wasn't too thrilled to find out the guy I loved was taking bathroom breaks every hour to inject heroin into himself. The strippers and groupies I wasn't too pleased with either, but Simon didn't seem interested in them because and I quote: 'Who would want to be with a girl who's a doll and is content with being a bloody fucking arm decoration?'. Overall, the music biz didn't change my mind about Simon in away." That, obviously, didn't answer Danni's question.

"Bobby said that you were seeing someone before you got back together with Simon. Is it true?"

"Yes."

"Why'd you break it off?"

"Because I wasn't over Simon and he cheated on me."

"Well, then he's a bastard just like my Bobby."

"Do you still love Bobby, Danni?" asked Suzie.

Danni was silent for a couple of minutes. "Yah. But I wish I could change him. Like I wish I could take away all of the temptations and always be there to watch over him and stop him from making a fool out of himself in front of the tabloids." Tears pelted down her face and onto her chin.

Suzie sucked at comforting people so she just stayed silent and miserable while watching Danni's break down. "It'll be okay. I got Simon clean." She soothed.

"How do you know? He could be lying to you!" wailed Danni.

"I know. But it's a risk I'll just have to take." She shrugged as if Danni's questioning didn't make her worry. She'd seen Bobby when they fought. He went on drunken rampages, invited strippers to his flat, and was normally arrested for assault and battery. Danni would always show up for him with the bail cash and they'd smooth things over after a couple of days of not leaving their sunny home in Scotland.

Danni ran a hand through her bleached blonde wild hair with feathers attached in little clips. She wore a long bohemian chic skirt that was multi-colored with waves separating each splash, her trademark brown leather jacket with chains that fell below her tiny waist. Her engagement ring glimmering dully against the metal of the chair she was sitting in, her wedding band was made up of beaten up pure gold.

Danni's voice was hoarse. "I sometimes wonder if I should have ever let my brother drive me to that stupid show in Germany. Do you ever feel that way?"

"Nope." That wasn't an entire lie. "Simon's affected my life, no matter how much I try to deny him or the fact that he's been such a big impactive influence. It's like thinking that you can keep your family away forever. Man, was I wrong about that. I've got to get home. You should get some rest, too." Suzie got up to say good-bye from Simon and pry his mother away from him.

"Suzie darling!" Aimee's face melted. Normally, she was a cold, sturdy woman who was the type to spend hours of her free time sorting through mismatching socks. She was wearing a rose-pink power suit with sandals. It was good too see that one thing about Simon's family hadn't changed.

"Hello, Aimee and Andrew." Simon groaned and Suzie smirked.

"Our Simon doesn't seem to want to speak to us…" Andrew trailed off and fidgeted with his silver and blue striped tie.

"Oh. You'd like me to get him to actually do something other then breath? No problem." Suzie went over to him; Simon's eyelids flickered.

"Hey!" Simon shot up, wide-awake.

Suzie hadn't attempted to do anything, Simon had just been under the impression that she had. "Hey yourself. I've got to go, but I'll be back tomorrow to come and pick you up since your folks'll be in Alaska." She winked at him and he covered his head with the pillow. "Make sure he behaves." Suzie left in a flurry.

Where had Jacob taken off to? She found him rather quickly; he was chatting up a rather attractive female nurse with angelic white-blonde hair falling to her bared shoulder blades with a stunning movie-star smile that made you want to floss more often.

"And here's my infamous daughter now!" Jacob waved her over and the nurse smiled softly.

"Who's this?" she asked. Suzie could tell when Jacob had found a new lady-friend.

"Susanna, this is Dolly, your uncle Howard's wife."

"Oh. Nice to meet you Dolly." The two women shook hands.

Dolly stopped smiling surprisingly. "I don't mean to pry, but who are you here for?"

"My boyfriend and his band. I'm sure you've heard about the resident Jungles. By the way, his name's Simon Costello, lead vocals and he can sometimes play the piano." Simon was always embarrassed to talk about how he had once aspired to become a pianist, but he was excellent and Suzie bugged him to practice more often.

"I don't care for their music much."

"I didn't expect you to." Suzie gave an innocent smirk in Dolly's direction, Jacob looked down at his feet. "Jacob, Felicity is probably out of her mind. Can you drop me off at home?"

"Sure, darling. I'll see you soon, Dolly. Tell How hello for me, will you?" Jacob fished into his pockets for his car keys.

"Of course! Have a sunny day!"

"Gag me with a fucking spoon." Suzie sneered as she stepped out St. Anne Hospital's doors.

"She's a lovely woman."

"Of course she is. By the way, I thought you were engaged." She raised one eyebrow suspiciously.

"I am…" they slipped into the car… in the same stride and way. Both of them noticed this fact, but neither brought it up.

"Then what were you doing flirting with Uncle How's wife?"

"I was not _flirting_. I've changed a lot since you've last seen or heard from me, Susanna." He gripped the steering wheel as if his life depended on it. "You should really consider getting your driver's license."

Suzie ignored him. "Let's just shut up for the rest of the ride, okay? By the way, I'm not going to the wedding."

Jacob focused the road. It'd meant a lot to him to believe that his favorite daughter would be attending his wedding. He tried to suppress his anger. He gritted his teeth. "Why not?"

Suzie considered this for a couple moments. "I'm not going to be involved in any of your relationships that aren't real. I remember all those women that you strutted around with and introduced Lucy and I to, they were all idiots and bimbos, but Lucy liked a lot of them. That girlfriend of yours, Gina Kentworth, I've spoken to her ever since the break-up. She's married now and has four kids. My point is, is that I'm not going to go there."

"Gina was a lovely and kind woman. I am very happy for her." Replied Jacob.

* * *

They had arrived at Suzie's almost immediately after Jacob avoided her decision about the wedding.

"Fuck you Jacob!" she yelled, slamming the car door behind her and kicking the car's back tire, puncturing it slightly.

Jacob looked straight ahead and tried not to be emotional or look at his daughter stomp into his ex-wife's house. He drove off, blaring _Weeping Willows _by King of the Jungle.


	15. Chp 15: Tinderbox

_! Author's Notes ! I had to delete the last couple of chapters because I didn't like where it was all heading. It would be too cliche and the whole Suzie/Simon, Suzie/Sirius, Suzie/Lucius, or Suzie/Tom Riddle would've been inevitable to discuss. I'm much more content with only two of those pairings being discussed. _

* * *

Tinderbox

Suzie had successfully endured the release of Simon and his parents' worried bickering and now it was time for a well deserved drink at The Three Broomsticks with her moping ex-boyfriend, her gleeful best friend, her gleeful best friend's explosive boyfriend, the unreadable Remus, and the fidgety Peter.

She felt like the only sane one amongst all of their absurd, manic behavior. "How is Simon?" asked Lily, apparently unaware of Sirius sitting besides her, he pulled down his shirt and ran a hand through his hair, Suzie tried to ignore him. Lily slurped at her glowing purple drink with a mangled straw.

"I wouldn't know. I mean, he's not all open or anything, typical guy." She looked over at Sirius who avoided her gaze by taking a long swig of his butterbeer. "I would suspect annoyed, though, since his parents have officially decided the butt their heads into his life again."  
"May we talk about something that doesn't have to do with each other's _personal _lives?" blubbered James. Ever since getting together with Lily, things had calmed down a bit in his life and thanks to Suzie's antics; his best friend was enduring the great Mourning Desert of Breaking Up and was in no mood to hang Mrs. Norris from the Great Hall ceiling as a way to get back at Filch for snitching the Marauder's Map.

"What else is there to talk about?" grumbled Sirius.

Remus' cool composure suddenly melted. What was happening to them? They'd been the best of friends for _seven _years, some of them even longer! It was ridiculous. "Suzie, Sirius!" he stood up abruptly, knocking his chair onto the ground with a roar. "Sirius, Suzie's got a boyfriend. Get over it. Suzie, get over Sirius, you've got a boyfriend. Lily and James, we've been waiting _years _for the two of you to fall for each other! Don't go ruining it; everyone has known that you both belong with each other! Get yourselves back in control! We can't let a break-up ruin everything that has been building for years and you all know that." Remus' voice cracked at the end.

They all looked down at the floor, at their shoes, or at their hands. Suzie bit at her fingernails. "Remus' right." she took a pause for effect. "Sirius, we need to talk."

Sirius followed her out into the bitter chill of the outdoors. "Was this to just get Moony to shut up or are we really going to discuss how you dumped me for a scumbag musician who's banging some other girl on the side?" His voice was pure venom.

Suzie laughed airily. "Is your memory really that terrible? We had something, Black, something that _you _fucked up! _You _slept with another girl! Kissing Simon is nothing compared to what you did. I didn't get wasted, I didn't go rummaging through your things, and I didn't fucking sleep with Simon and then expect you to forgive me and forget all about it!" Tears started bubbling over. She tried to ward them off with her sweater's sleeve.

Sirius was quite for a moment. His voice was cracking and out of control, but soft and sincere at the same time. "It's killing me, Suzie."  
"I-I wish I could say the same. But… it just hurts, you know? It isn't haunting me every second, I guess I've let you slip my mind." The magnetic force that stood between them both went back into action and yanked them together. It began to snow.

"Can we promise each other something?" he asked, lacing her fingers with his. She pressed their hands against his shoulder blade.

"Anything."

"Let's promise that we'll never forget each other. That everyday, we'll think about each other, whether it's : 'What would Suzie say about this?' or 'Sirius used to love these chocolates'. We won't say these things out loud, we'll just think about them. I know, that everyday of my life, I'll always think 'What if'." His eyes spoke of what he wanted: He wanted her back.

There was a question Suzie needed to ask herself once more: Simon or Sirius. It seemed like it would never be answered. It was either what her heart wanted or needed. Her heart _needed _Simon, but her heart _wanted _Sirius.

"I need to check something." They were dangerously close, but that is what Suzie needed to lean forward, forget about Simon for a milli-second and kiss Sirius slowly and borderline innocent/passionate. Her lips tingled for a moment and then her fingertips, her head felt like it was about the combust. There was that spark, the one that kept Sirius and her together. Simon. What did Simon's kisses feel like? Her body flooded of all thoughts relating to Sirius and filled with those of Simon.

The Romanian trailer park, the absolute horror on his face before spazzing out about her being a witch, the sound and pleading in his voice for her in _Weeping Willows_. He _needed _her. She needed him.

"I'm sorry, Sirius. There will be no February vacation fling." She kissed him on the cheek, lingering too long to be a friend's kiss, but going too quickly to be a lover's.


	16. Chp 16: Downside Up

_ !Author's Notes ! Okay, I feel as though I really like this chapter. It may be my very favorite so far. Wow. Have I just jinxed it? _

* * *

Downside Up

Simon was playing video games. What the hell was up with those things? Suzie plopped down next to him on the couch, but he didn't flinch or look towards her. "I've decided I'd better join you in your anti-meat frenzy. Your boyfriend is officially a vegetarian." He finally said, setting down the control after loosing at least twenty-six lives.

"I've been a vegetarian since I was eleven, Simon." She smirked, tying back her messy hair.

Simon shrugged.

"Is everything alright?" Suzie asked, focusing on the window. She couldn't make herself look at Simon whose shoulders were shaking and his face beat red with trying to hold back the tears. He snuffled and hiccupped, but finally pulled himself together.

"Soon. Soon." He repeated.

"I don't care. You should know that by now. I don't care if you work for a plumbing company or at a paper factory. If there's one thing I've learned today, it's that I need you and I want you. Without you, I'm doomed to end up a cat lady, the widow of a used car's salesmen who's not you, with my only worldly contact being the mail man who comes by every so often to make sure I haven't offed myself yet." She chuckled a little, trying to make the mood and atmosphere less tense.

"That's the problem, Suzie. _I _know _you _don't care, but I do care. Fuck, Suze! Everything's fucking going wrong." His voice was hoarse.

She shook her head. "You've got me. Luckily, you haven't done your best to turn me off yet. Besides, when I go back to school it'll just be for a couple of months, I'll sneak out like I used to and we'll meet up at some dangerous, shady location. We need to discuss something, though…"

Simon trusted her enough to know that she wouldn't mention King of the Jungle. "I know what you're talking about. You practically live here anyway. All we need is your purple alarm clock and that slight feminine urge to go and clean up the kitchen that hopefully will kick in soon enough. As soon as your school year ends, it'll be all set. By, the way, what the hell do you expect me to do while you're away?" he asked jokingly, clicking his tongue.

"Go into major depression mood, not get out of your slippers, if you owned any of them, and eat out the ice cream container, if you didn't do that already. In other words, I expect you to cope well enough without a meltdown. There's such a thing as writing every day you know, so you can basically tell me everything that you've done in the past hour." I know you're probably sick of me writing 'he kissed her' so I won't, I'll just merely fast forward a tad, to the Hogwarts Express, a couple of days later and start with another kiss…

Simon and Suzie slipped out of each other's embrace and back up a few feet. He had driven her to King's Cross and was know leaning against the hood of his Impala and looking down the bridge of his nose from his sunglasses. "Write soon." He whispered, kissing her again.

"I've got to go, Simon, otherwise my parents will think the car's moving when it's parked." Simon scrunched up his eyebrows, not fully understanding Suzie's far-fetched joke.

"Sex, Simon, in your car." She replied, laughing it off.

"Oh. Right."

"Susanna Donnelly!" her sister Lucy was standing impatiently with her boy toy George near the entrance.

"Gotta go." She kissed his cheek swiftly and trotted off.

"Love you!" he called after her.

She blew him a kiss and winked.

"I've got myself I good one," he said to himself and started the ignition.

"So, Suzie, what did you do all vacation?" asked George. He was a semi-handsome guy with a hearty laugh. He was slim and slight, but at a certain angle, he looked a little bigger. His shoulders were broad, however, and his voice was deep. George wore classic muggle clothing and was overall Lucy's perfect guy: stable, intelligent, and perfectly ordinary.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She said deceivingly. Lucy caught George looking at her little sister too much and slapped him upside the head. "You keep your eyes to yourself or on me." She hissed. Lucy came up to Suzie, yanked at her arm and dragged her into one of the dark corners of the train station.

"How do you get off on this!" she shouted.

"Get off on what?" snapped Suzie, a tad bit oblivious to her elder sister's frustration.

"Being so… so damn beautiful! Have you ever cared to pay attention to the way guys look at you? You had Simon, then Sirius, and then Simon again, and in between all of them, I can only guess how many men looked at you like you were a gem! Including my boyfriend! How could you, Susanna?" Lucy shook her head, the tears mounting.

"Lucy, have you ever looked in the fucking mirror? Have you ever seen those bastards who look at me like I'm a prize, like a new territory they need to settle? No one looks at you like that, you're far luckier then you'd ever believe. Besides, George is perfect for you, he's your male counterpart!" she shouted exasperatedly.

Lucy's shoulders drooped. "I guess you've got a point." She looked at your watch. "We're going to be late! Hurry!"

And so, the two sisters scurried, off, tripping over their own two feet in the same way. Who ever knew family traits could be so strong?


	17. Chp 17: Combat Rock

Combat Rock

The first week back at Hogwarts was strangely quite and humorless. Suzie hung about with Lucy and George, trying to understand their political discussions, but failing miserably each time. She missed the way James used to chase after Lily, the way Peter used to stuff his face with marshmallows every time she left the room, but when she entered, he'd spit the nasty goop into his hands and hide them behind his back. She missed the good times when Sirius would snitch a bottle of wine from Hogsmeade and share with her, she missed James' lunacy antics.

The way it was looking, it seemed like she had traded Simon for her friends. If she wanted her friends back, she'd have to dump Simon and get back together with Sirius.

Because, as you know, Suzie is that type of person that thrives off of confrontation, so she got Lily, James, Peter, Sirius, and Remus all together into the Room of Requirement exactly a half an hour before curfew. "Why aren't we friends anymore?" she asked simply, leaning back on her chair and lacing her fingers together primly.

Sirius snorted but didn't answer.

Remus shot him a dirty look and replied: "Yes. I believe Suzie does have a point. I haven't spoken to any of you in ages. Practically the only ones in touch are James and Lily, and Peter and I."

"Suzie, are you sure you can handle why I can't speak to you?" Sirius asked softly, looking at the bookcase of books drearily.

"Most definitely."

"I've always loved you from afar, even when you were head-over-heals in love with Simon. You and Simon break up because he was a drunken bastard who reacted with anything but welcome to your being a witch. I see my chance and seemingly, you return my feelings. We become a couple, for me, everything is going good. That is, until that scoundrel Simon pops right back into your life. You seem to hate him still and I know you're lying. I had had my suspicions that you still had feelings for the guy, but I also 'knew' that your feelings for me would overcome them, that we could jump over that hurdle _together_. In, fact, I practically knew this. Until, that is, I pick up one of those muggle tabloids and see you and 'KING OF THE JUNGLE LEAD VOCALS, SIMON COSTELLO' kissing. I get angry and drunk, I was hurt like fuck and once I saw a girl who had been chasing after me for seven years, I realized that there was a way to get you back: I could sleep with her. And I did. Honestly, I wasn't thinking. Once I woke up, all I thought about was: I hope she slept with him, I hope she'll forgive me, I hope she won't rip my heart out, I hope…" Sirius stopped. Suzie stared at him blankly, wondering what she should do. He was selfish, he was cruel, and he was out of control. He was just like Simon in the early days. The similarities were mind-blowing. It all shocked her. What shocked her the most though, was when she rushed to Sirius and hugged him tightly as he tried to hide the tears sparkling in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Suzie." He whispered into her shoulder. She hugged him tighter.

"I know." She said back, wishing that the others weren't there to see it all. "It'll be okay, you know. We'll always be there for each other. Always. Remember our promise." Tears pricked at her own eyes.

"There'll be no other girl, Suzie. You'll always be my last."

"No, Sirius. Jenna Kelly will." She hated to admit it, but it was true. Sirius sobbed harder and tightened his grip around her waist.

"Is that what you think? You think I was talking about _sex_!" he shouted abruptly. Suzie shifted away. "I was talking about _love, _Suzie! I'll always love you! Always, always, always, always, always, always, always!" he was like a four-year-old during a rabid fit. Unstoppable.

"Sirius…" This was Suzie, of course, no one else could do anything.

"You know what? I should remove myself from your life forever. All I ever do is cause problems." He stood, awaiting her comments. That's what Suzie loved about Sirius, he wouldn't leave unless you made him or wanted him to.

She smiled, the corners of her mouth perking up. "There's only one problem with your plan." Suzie folded her arms across her chest.

"And that would be?…" he sighed.

"That I don't want you to. Don't get me wrong, I'm madly in love with Simon, but I don't want you gone. You've always been there. And, hopefully, you always will." Sirius' jaw slacked a little but Suzie remained firm. "Hey, remember that time I got totally wasted at your Aunt Myrtle's New Years Eve Party, we were like, what, eight? I think that's about right since Lucy was at that braids-only phase and Regulus kept on streaking. Good times." This made them both break out into laughter at the hysterical mental image of baby Regulus Black running around the groggy Aunt Myrtle's kitchen with his pants down at his ankles, and his diaper atop his head.

"You see. We're friends again." Sirius managed to say through laughs.

"There's only one problem." Said Suzie, looking at them all, one at a time. "He's a musician, he's my boyfriend, and he's ultimately depressed at the moment. If you haven't realized who it is, our problem is the one-and-only Simon Costello. Known of you have ever met him and he's a bit on the magically unaware side. After graduation you all will have a chance to meet the dude who made a fool out of himself by running, starch naked down the President of the United State's street." The way she said this all, made it easier for Sirius to deal with. Sure, he would manage not to blow Simon into oblivion, as long as Suzie's eyes were fixed on him and not that bastardly Costello.


	18. Chp 18: God Save the Queen

God Save the Queen

_Dear Simon, _

_I am bored. I am eating way too much candy. I am missing you. I am also educating my best friend in the whole wide world, Lily Evans, on how to play the piano. Who'd ever think of such an absurd thing? Now I know who you felt while teaching me: absolutely hopeless. She asked me why there were two different colored keys! _

_Just in case you're wondering, you will be meeting James, Remus, Peter, Lily, and Sirius sometime soon. Probably after graduation. By the way, I have some wicked good news! I've got a job! Not just a job, but an extremely well paying job. It's at this Ministry of Magic, I'll be working for my Uncle Bob who's the Minister himself, so I guess it's cool. The only bad part is that I'll be working with Uncle Bob's son, Martin. He's a scumbag who can't stop worshipping the ground Earl walks on. It's hilarious. I won't be fetching coffee, though, that'll be Martin or Martin's girlfriend, Mimi. She's Earl's secretary. I'll be Uncle Bob's assistant until I can get enough brownie points make it to my real dream job as an Auror. Aurors lock up the wizard-villains and are kind of like cops so I guess you'll be calling me a hypocrite for the rest of my life. _

_Wow, I've written a lot. I hope I haven't kept you too long from sitting on your fat arse and playing those fucking video games. _

_SUZIE_

* * *

Suzie set down her blue ink-pen and beckoned Lily's owl, Hoot, over from his resting perch to go deliver the message to Felicity where Simon would pick up her letter and send off another. They had it all worked out. 

"Who's the letter to?" asked Lily.

"Simon."

"Oh."

"Hey, aren't you bored? There's Quidditch Practice going on. Why don't we check that out?" Suzie asked restlessly as Hoot flew off.

"Why not, I promised James I'd pop up anyway."

When they arrived, James was blowing his whistle like a mad man into beater, Leo Kirk's ear. "What the bloody hell were you thinking?! You bloody damn knocked Beaver's block off!"

Naomi Beaver was Leo's girlfriend and James' fellow chaser. Naomi tried to calm James down by knocking him upside the head with the palm of her hand.

"You're lucky I don't replace you! You worthless piece of shit!" Growled James, spitting at Leo's feet. Leo only chuckled as he was practically immune to James' rampages.

Suzie snuck onto the field. "Did Phillipa quit yet?" she asked, referring to the third chaser, Phillipa Pennington. James didn't reply but Sirius nodded.

"Oh. I suppose I could take her place." Shrugged Suzie. James turned around, knocking Naomi to the ground. "I thought you swore off Quidditch after the whole… you know." He was undoubtedly skeptical.

"I miss the rush, you know. Besides, you've seen me play." Suzie was a legend in the Quidditch department, but she had quit the team during their third year after a tragic accident involving a Hogwarts student being emitted into St. Mungo's and not coming back out.

"You're in." he replied, crushing Suzie in a long-lasting bear hug.

"Gee, I'm so flattered." She rolled her eyes jokingly.

"Welcome back," Seeker Earl Marx flew down. Suzie winced. Earl was her ex-boyfriend and the relationship hadn't ended with any bit of niceness, for the lack of a better term. Earl was a windy-haired, wiry seventeen-year-old with big green eyes and cinnamon freckles sprinkled across his face. He was a pretty good seeker as well and was now single and available after a two-year relationship with Daisy Kruger.

Naomi Beaver was a busty girl with chocolate colored hair tied at the nape of her neck in plaits. Her eyes were the most immaculate sea greenish blue you could ever see and her skin was a dark, Indian color that just added to her majesty.

Leo Kirk was his girlfriend's opposite. He had a thick, sometimes undecipherable Scottish accent, he was ghostly pale so you could spot his blue-purple veins pulsing in his wrists. His hair was permanently teased and he dyed it from its natural blonde to a wood-brown color that didn't wash him out so much, his eyes were a pale, attentive gray color.

The only one missing was the keeper, Annabelle Zusak. Annabelle was not an attractive looking girl, but she managed to get her way around the playing field. Her nose was always broken and was crooked, her hair was greasy and jet-black, but her eyes were like an animals: so green that they were yellow. Her hands were wrapped in bandages from being bruised by the quaffle and callused from endless hours on her broomstick. Out of all of them, Suzie liked Annabelle the most.

Annabelle swooped down on them from her broom and waved at Suzie. "Good to see you back, Donnelly! Now we might have a chance at whooping Ravenclaw's asses tomorrow with Pennington gone." She flashed her popcorn teeth, they were lathered in yellow, but she managed to make it look absolutely sparkling despite their lack of shine and cleanliness.

"There's a game _tomorrow_?" asked Suzie, astounded.

"Of course there is! Go change and find your broomstick!" Ordered James.

"How'd you know I still had it?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.

James shrugged. "You love the game."


	19. Chp 19: Ole Black 'n' Blue Eyes

_! Author's Notes ! I started this chapter inbetween parts of: "The Book Thief," by Markus Zusak. I hate to say it, but this book may be challenging a few of the Potter books for my favorite book title. This book was so moving I cried. I would reccomend it to anyone and everyone. The book is quite thick, which at first, was intimidating, but once you delve into the world of the narrating, Death, you are begging for more! The end is not a surprise, as Death prepares you for it by leaving hints. But, despite Death's anticlimatic-ness, you still manage to be shocked by every ending event. READ "THE BOOK THIEF," BY MARKUS ZUSAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

* * *

Ole Black 'n' Blue Eyes

It was definitely Spring. Then again, it was May, so there was no denying it. Two months had passed since Suzie rejoined the Quidditch Team. It'd been a rocky beginning with her knees knocking a little and her hands quivering. Her eyesight was shit without her glasses and she kept refusing to go an find them in her Dormitory because it'd take too long. In the end, however, she regained her strength and her backbone. Her broom was nothing compared to James' latest, but it was better than Annabelle's slug. Her talents were noticeable and they won that first game against Ravenclaw 20-5.

Suzie started sneaking out every weekend to meet up with Simon, but their lack of time together was starting to show. Simon's letters poured in, but Suzie rarely had the time to reply to them, mainly she just jotted down: _Too much to do. I promise I'll write you a gigantic letter longer then I am tall. Love, Suzie. _None of the letters ever really made it into Simon's hands. He was worried. She was worried.

On the other hand, Suzie and Sirius' relationship flourished and everything seemed better then average. Sirius had even discussed saying yes to a date with Valerie Foster, a pretty girl with big blue eyes in Hufflepuff, but he canceled at the last minute stating a family emergency despite the fact that he hadn't spoken to any family members since he was fifteen.

Suzie and Sirius were looking out the Astronomy Tower window, both of them staring at the twinkling, sparkling stars above them. It was hard for Sirius to bite his tongue and not say anything to her about how much he still loved her. Or about how he'd do anything for her, including pretend like he was into the whole friends only crap.

"Sirius," she said wistfully, taking a look up from her book. She couldn't help becoming attached to the couple of the story, their situation was so much unlike hers and Simon's and it scared her. Was everything supposed to be like Noah and Nicky's life? No, of course not, this was a work of _fiction_.

"Yah, Suzie?" he asked dreamily, taking a sip of his wine.

"Nothing," What had she been going to say? The tension between them had been released. Then her first kiss memory flooded through her. She laughed…

* * *

_Suzie and Sirius were twelve and were being mistaken for a fifteen-year-old couple all over the place. Suzie had always looked too mature for her age and Sirius was absurdly tall and muscular for twelve when he was supposed to be gangly and lank. _

_They were at Suzie's father's house; this was when he lived in a suburb just a couple of miles away from London. Sirius' mother had deposited him off too eagerly for Jacob Donnelly's taste and he'd left them alone, doomed to come up with their own forms of entertainment. _

_They'd discussed calling over James, Remus, Peter, and Lily, but denied this upon realized how they'd all ditched them for the summer. Lily was in Italy with her parents and sister, Petunia; James was at some summer camp in Scotland; Remus was living in his parents' cabin in the woods in Wales; and Peter was apparently unreachable. _

_"What do we do now?" Suzie had asked him, picking at a daisy, the stem's juice spilling over onto her fingers. _

_Sirius had leaned back against the large oak tree shading them, stretching and performing the infamous yawn, slip arm on girl's shoulders maneuver on Suzie. _

_"Are you making a move on me?" she had hissed, slapping his arm away. _

_Sirius had laughed and pressed his nose against hers. "So what if I am?" _

_Suzie's eyes had twinkled mischievously and she shrugged, still not pulling away. _

_"Hey, Suzie. Can I kiss you?" _

_She cocked one eyebrow. "We're twelve, stupid!" _

_"So, there's no age limit for true love." _

_"Sirius Black! I am not in love with you!" _

_"You're right, you are truly in love with me!" he kissed her shortly, but hard. _

_Suzie yanked away violently and pulled out her trusty book, ignoring him until he said he was sorry and that she was a good kisser even though he hadn't ever kissed a girl before as well as that he was glad that his first kiss had been with her. _

_However, this firsts moment was ruined by Suzie bringing up one of her infamous: 'Sirius is so gay' discussions by asking: "Have you ever kissed a guy before?"   
Typical twelve-year-olds._

* * *

  
In fact, they had had an abundance of firsts together: their first dance they'd skipped together and the tradition continued onwards, they'd both preformed magic together (or rather on each other) at the same time, Suzie's first boyfriend was Sirius (when they were young) and vice versa, and so many more. Together, they were unstoppable. That is, until the whole sexual stuff came into effect.

"We've been friends for a long time, huh?" she finally spoke.

Sirius nodded, refilling his wine glass. "I can't remember a Suzie Donnelly-less moment in my childhood, teenage hood, or adolescence." He smirked, sitting besides her.

She didn't speak. She couldn't say anything at all to his comments. So, she changed to subject: "What are you doing this summer?"

He paused for a moment. "I think I'll be working for the Order. That's my best bet. Maybe I'll travel a bit even."

Suzie set aside her book. "I'm traveling Asia. I don't know with whom yet. Maybe Lily or Lucy or even you."

"What about Simon?"

"He hates traveling."

"Oh,"

"Yup." She took a drink of her own wine and concentrated on the blanket of starts laid out before her. Thinking was inevitable in her situation. Whether it was about whether or not she really wanted to become an Auror or where her relationship with Simon was headed, she could not stop it all.

As if Sirius was reading her mind he asked her: "Suzie, are you positive about the Auror thing? I have known you all of my life, since we were four, and I always knew you would be a journalist. You read too much, I've read your papers and essays and they're impeccable and you know some of the largest words I've ever heard in my entire life. Money shouldn't be an issue with your future career, Suzie. It should be what _you _want."

She didn't reply for a couple of moments. Journalism had always been a far-off-the-coast fantasy, just like James' to become a professional chaser. It was ridiculous, only a childhood dream to look forward to. Suzie had always been told that she would never need to work, the family fortune would never run out. But this was before Jacob's gambling problem and before the mafia as well as Simon. Now, it was more or less that she _wanted _to work. Without a job, what would she do with her time? Go pub-crawling with a bunch of alcoholics? Have an affair with the postman? Bite her fingernails until there was nothing left?

"I don't know," she replied meekly and wondered what she should do with her spare time. She could write to Simon, that was a definite possibility, or she could stay and look at the stars with Sirius besides her and think about her life. She chose Sirius. Writing and explaining everything to Simon would be emotionally thinning.

"Do you ever picture getting married? You know, a big wedding, tons of kids, a truck load of crying relatives." Sirius pried his eyes from the sooty, starred quilt and focused on Suzie once he had asked her that fateful question.

Why should she even bother answering? "No."

"What about Simon?"

"I don't know." It nearly decapitated her to admit that she knew so much, yet so little about Simon.

"I know I never want to get married. Who the hell wants to spend all their money on just a mask of fluff?" Sirius sounded like his twelve-year-old counterpart, the one who begged Suzie for kisses, but would only receive one once, the one who managed to get Suzie off of the ground and get into trouble with him and then have to run around his house's block at least eighteen times to try and outrun Mrs. Black because they'd singed her eyebrows off.

"I don't know," she replied once more.

"Suzie… are you okay?"

"I don't know."


	20. Chp 20: Angel is the Centerfold

Angel is the Centerfold

Sirius woke up first, and man was he a little too content with the way Suzie's head was draped on his shoulder and they were so close. He wanted to let the moment remain in his memory forever: the chocolaty smell of Suzie's hair, her porcelain complexion, her 3-D freckles, the cherry-red of her lips, and the wild forest of her hair was all concrete in his mind. No matter what happened, it'd still be there.

The sun was crawling up into the sky, but Suzie didn't seem to be stirred. She'd always been an out-cold sleeper. For the good of his 'friend' he gently tapped her shoulder. Suzie shuddered awake. "What time is?" she asked. Sirius shrugged. Suzie stretched, picked up her book, and snuck off.

"Thank God for awkwardness." Muttered Sirius, trying to gather the remains of their late night and too early morning.

The day was refreshingly normal: Suzie and Sirius bickered and caught Lily and James in another storage closet, and no one outside of the Marauders seemed to notice the absence of Remus Lupin.

* * *

It was at least an hour past curfew and Suzie was preparing to sneak out: all black clothes: black jeans, black heelless boots, a black sweatshirt, a black t-shirt, and her hair tied back. She would've gone for the black streaks under her eyes or a ski mask if not for the lack of people to entertain.

However, her plans did not go as she had expected them to when she ran into the four Marauders heading to the Whomping Willow.

It was Sirius who spoke up: "Suzie! What are you doing here?" he pulled her aside gently, away from his three colleagues.

"Visiting Simon, why?" she caught the petrified look on Remus' already frightened, glum features. "… Is something wrong?" All four Marauders looked towards the full moon. "One of you is a…" she didn't get to finish as Remus' limbs stretched, he was no longer a human, he was a werewolf.

Sirius tried to herd Suzie away when another interruption was made: Severus Snape. "I knew it! I knew Lupin was a werewolf!" he shouted, jumping out from the bushes. Peter and James transformed into their animangi forms and challenge the whimpering werewolf into the Whomping Willow.

Snape raced off into the black of night. "Go you fool! You'll be getting yourself murdered!" Sirius shouted, clenching his fists.

"I can help, I can get Snape away from Remus." She stammered.

"No, you can get away, you can go back to the castle. Now!" he ordered, shoving her a little, but she didn't budge.

"There's always been one thing about me you have not known, Sirius. I used to have a brother. He was a werewolf as well. My parents locked him up. Lucy and I used to visit him daily. Lucy knew how we could accompany him through his transformations. I'm a fox, Lucy's an owl." She grinned and turned into a blood red colored fox with fluorescent green eyes that challenged Sirius to change as well. And he did.

Sirius was a larger animal, but Suzie was faster and quicker on her feet. Yelping, Sirius tunneled down the hole that lead into the Shrieking Shack. James, or Prongs really, was holding off Snape. However, Prongs' horns got into the way and Snape snuck down into the tunnel, threatening to reveal every one of Moony's secrets. Prongs bounded downwards, stopping Snape from his most certain deadly fate. The werewolf was out of control so far as he wasn't used to the strange, red animal that was Suzie.

Snape ran right into Padfoot, knocking him down. Moony howled and charged, running right into Snape. He would have been bitten into shreds. If not for Prongs separating the two with his horns. Moony retreated. Snape ran for his life.

* * *

"Where's Red?" asked James in his human form.

"Who?" echoed Peter.

"Suzie you idiot!" snapped James.

"The fox was _Suzie_?" Peter asked in awe, his bulging eyes nearly popping out of his skull.

Sirius rubbed his temples. Suzie had a brother. He was a werewolf. None of this made any since.

Remus stirred, back into his human form. The door creaked open and Suzie was there, her eyes laced with purple black circles, she bore horrible welts, bruises, and scratches on her arms and wide smile on her face. "His name's Tommy. Tommy's my older brother. He was bitten by Greyback when Jacob got backed into a bad corner when Tommy was eight, Lucy was three, and I was two. He's my half-brother really, but we accepted him into our family. It was supposed to be me, I know that, since I saw Greyback lunge for me first, but Tommy intervened. Greyback bit him instead. He was in full wolf form. Once that happened, Jacob decided to lock him up, Felicity denounced it, but he did it anyway. He was _eight_! I didn't know I had a brother until Lucy told me when I was nine, we found out where he was hidden and we visited him. He'd been brought an old wand and could do magic pretty well. He loved to read." Suzie smiled and sniffled back her tears. "Two years ago, he bolted and now he's part of Greyback's pack. I see him every once and a while. Oh, yes, none of this explains the whole animagus thing. Tommy was lonely, and so, Lucy came up with the idea of becoming animals, she looked it up, she studied for three months before learning about animagi. It took us a year to learn we accompanied him every transformation until we were admitted to Hogwarts."

Remus was awake for the entire story. "I'm sorry, Suzie." He whispered, cloaking himself with the blanket and his cloak.

Suzie wiped her eyes with the back of her sleeve. "Don't be. Tommy would be proud." She smiled a watery smile and backed out of the Shrieking Shack.

"Whoa." Said James.

"Yah," replied Sirius.


	21. Chp 21: Someone to Die For

Someone to Die For

Suzie didn't speak to anyone for four days. All she did was think: Where is Tommy now? Is he okay? Is he married? Is he happy? Does he think about Lucy and I at all? Does Lucy know where he is?  
She couldn't eat whatsoever, her tongue was heavy, and her throat crinkled like water on cardboard, and sleep was her only savior from the terrors of day. What made it all worse were the constant questions of others: "Where'd you get those scratches, Suzie?" and "Suzie, are you okay? What's the matter?"

She wished she had never told Sirius about Tommy, he wasn't supposed to exist anymore.

* * *

Suzie woke up on a sunny Sunday and decided she'd be sociable again. If anyone wanted to ask her questions, she'd answer them and she wouldn't lie. She'd write to Simon, explaining that there was something she needed to tell him. There was only a month left before graduation. Before she moved in with Simon and virtually sealed her fate.

A letter arrived that morning at breakfast. It was a foreign scrawl.

_Suzie, _

_This is Danni, here, writing this. I thought you should know about the band and stuff. They've decided the move on, without Gates. Can you imagine? Jungle with Gates! Well, they're searching for a new bassist now._

_By the way, I'm pregnant! That solves the constant mood swings, huh. Bobby hopes it's a girl. Personally, I hope it's a boy. Kind of a roll reversal, right? _

_Oh, Simon misses you a lot and he's going to dictate a message to me for you. Ready? Okay: _

_Simon Costello's message to his girlfriend, Suzie Donnelly: I miss you. I love you. I've found a book I know you'll love. It's crazy about Danni and Bobby, huh? Just to clarify: I want one kid. That's it. Two is too much, three and above is absurd. End of message. _

_He's a bit of prat, isn't he? Write soon and don't be shy!_

_Danni-girl_

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Suzie, jumping up. Danni and Bobby were having a baby!

"What?" Sirius lifted his head from reading the newspaper. "Red has spoken!" he hugged her.

"Who the hell is Red?" she asked, utterly confused.

"You are, Suzie." Replied Remus, flashing her a smile. She returned to favor. "Thanks." The Marauders had just emitted their first female member.

* * *

Simon and Suzie walked, hand in hand down the rotten streets of London later in the evening. With his free hand, Simon blew out the smoke from his cigarette, holding it firmly to his lips. The paparazzi attacked once again. Suzie was on her way to her first ever interview with a muggle magazine called: The Sunny Mirror.

It went like this:

_Reporter: How long have you and Simon Costello been dating?_

_Donnelly: I dunno. How long has it been, Simon?_

_Costello: Why does the time count?_

_Reporter (laughing): I don't know. Why does time count?_

_Donnelly: I don't know._

_Reporter: How old are you, Miss. Donnelly?_

_Donnelly: Seventeen. And for you information, the age difference means a little less then shit._

_Reporter: How do you feel about being the sole inspiration for __Weeping Willows?_

_Donnelly: I guess, a little ashamed, lucky, pleased, tired, and wary._

_Reporter: Is it true that guitarist, Bobby Rodgers' wife, Danni Fairchild is pregnant?_

_Donnelly: Yes. I'm really, really happy for them both. Hopefully Bobby won't drop it on its head…_

_Reporter: Do you and Mr. Costello plan on having any children?_

_Donnelly (shaking head and laughing hard): Not now! I'm seventeen! Try one and at twenty-five._

_Reporter: What about you, Mr. Costello?  
_

_Costello: If that's what my Suzie wants, than I'm game. Then again, that'd make me about twenty-eight. Never mind, I'm game._

_Reporter: Any married plans?_

_Donnelly (shrugging): Eventually._

_Costello: Most definitely._

_Reporter: Miss. Donnelly, is it true that you have a sister?_

_Donnelly: Yes. I have a sister and a half-sister. Lucy and Natalie. My mother remarried._

_Reporter: When will you be getting out of school?_

_Donnelly: Next month._

_Reporter: Do you have any plans for after school?_

_Donnelly: Traveling Asia and maybe getting an internship for a newspaper somewhere._

_Reporter: Whom will you be traveling with?_

_Donnelly: My friends and Simon if he gets over his fear of loosing his luggage._

* * *

"You were brilliant my girl!" Simon congratulated her once they existed the box-hole that was the Sunny Mirror's headquarters.

"Thanks." Suzie laid her head on his shoulder happily.

"I miss Gates," he said out of the blue.

"Have you found a replacement yet?"

"Yah,"

"What's his name?"

"Freddie Churchill. He's a better player than Gates, but he doesn't have the soul, or the spunk." Simon shook his head sadly.

"We should go check up on Gates."

"Yes. You're right!" and his kissed her on the cheek. They caught a cab and traveled to 18 Sudbury Avenue.

The house was colored cherry red with black shingles. The yard was in the need of a good mow and toys littered the grass area. A toy car, headless Barbie Dolls, G.I. Joes, etc.

There was a large, open window that showed Gates lifting a curly-haired infant out of her high chair, kissing her rosy cheek lovingly. A young woman with a kind, unlined face and bright red hair was cleaning up the kitchen, singing softly.

They rang the doorbell. A pajama-clad boy with Gates' messy hair and big blue eyes answered. He was holding a plastic airplane in one hand and a red and blue quilt in the other. "Mommy! Daddy!" he called.

The woman came at the door and her face melted. "You two must be Suzie and Simon. Come on in. I'm Diana."

The inside of the house was quaint and homely. It smelled of cleaning supplies and chocolate chip cookies. Gates was watching the evening news, the infant girl bouncing on his knee.

Suzie and Simon were puzzled. What kind of secret life was Gates leading? "Gavin, Simon and Suzie are here." Diana gently touched Gates' shoulder and gathered up the girl.

"I see you have met my wife, Diana. That there is my son, Ian and my daughter, Rose." He pointed to each person: the humming woman, the sleepy boy, and the gabbing infant.

"What? Why?" Simon couldn't find the words.

"I quit the band because I couldn't live your way anymore. I wanted a suburban lifestyle with my children and my wife. I'm young and I know I will come to regret leaving the adventure so soon, but these are my kids. I've made a life commitment to them and to Diana." He was weary and tired and depressed.

"Gates, why didn't you tell us about them?" Suzie struggled for the words.

Gates' eyes dimmed. "I was ashamed. I was supposed to be out partying, drinking, and with you all, not tucking Ian into bed or helping Diana with Rose. Can you both forgive me?"

"Of course, Gates!" Suzie hugged him as a friend and smiled.

"Yah buddy," the two guys shook hands and clapped each other's backs.

* * *

Two hours later, Simon and Suzie dragged themselves back to Simon's flat. They were watching "Nasfuratu," together on Simon's blue couch.

"Suzie,"

"Yah?"

"Will you marry me?" he didn't look away from the screen. Suzie choked down a shrill scream. "Why the hell not?"

"So that'd be a yes?"

"No, that'd be a marriage proposal accepted."


	22. Chp 22: Leather and Lace

Leather and Lace

_Is love so fragile  
And the heart so hollow  
Shatter with words  
Impossible to follow  
You're saying I'm fragile  
I try not to be  
I search only  
For something  
I can't see_

_I have my own life  
And I am stronger  
Than you know  
But I carry this feeling  
When you walked into my house  
That you won't be walking out the door  
Still I carry this feeling  
When you walked into my house  
That you won't be walking out the door_

_Lovers forever  
Face to face  
My city or mountains  
Stay with me stay  
I need you to love me  
I need you today  
Give to me your leather  
Take from me  
My lace_

_You in the moonlight  
With your sleepy eyes  
Could you ever love a man like me  
And you were right  
When I walked into your house  
I knew I'd never want to leave  
Sometimes I'm a strong man  
Sometimes cold and scared  
And sometimes I cry  
But that time I saw you  
I knew with you to light my nights  
Somehow I'd get by_

_Lovers forever  
Face to face  
My city or mountains  
Stay with me stay  
I need you to love me  
I need you today  
Give to me your leather  
Take from me  
My lace_

_Lovers forever  
Face to face  
My city or mountains  
Stay with me stay  
I need you to love me  
I need you today  
Give to me your leather  
Take from me  
My lace  
Take from me  
My lace  
Take from me  
My lace_

* * *

There was no ring, there was celebration, there was no bragging, there were no regrets, there were only two people: Simon and Suzie. 

Almost immediately after saying yes, Suzie thought of Sirius. She could see his rebellious features turning to mush and then spring back to life once the thought of her seeing him weak and hurt stung him. Sirius would be the hardest, most dangerous, and most reluctant to tell right after Suzie's father.

Seventeen and engaged? What would people say? How much would the media hound them? There was no ring. At least not yet, since Suzie was refusing to wear one until she graduated.

She'd snuck out once he was asleep, she apprated outside of Hagrid's hut and thought. He was a blabbermouth, no she couldn't tell him. Lucy was asleep, but she was in Ravenclaw. Then, it hit her: Annabelle. She normally slept under the stars and on the Gryffindor rafters, especially on warm, starry nights like this one.

"Annabelle!" she whispered, prodding her curled frame with her finger. She was snuggled up with her broom. She loved that thing.

"What? Who is that? Oh, it's you Donnelly." She sat up, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"I'm engaged. What do I do Annabelle?" Suzie asked desperately as she played with her bare ring finger.

"Oh my. That is quite a problem. First of all, congrats. Second of all, who's going to tell Black? Third of all, I hope you are aware that you're only seventeen. And I bet there's a whole lot more of those." Annabelle was officially a good person to talk to in a crisis.

"I think I'm going to write him a letter. How does that sound?"

"I think he'd appreciate hearing it from you in person. You should go wake him up right now!" Annabelle howled, throwing her head back in amusement. She was right.

It was about 4:30 and everyone was sound asleep, except from a snoring figure sprawled out on the couch. Sirius Black. He'd been trying to wait up for her. Suzie smiled to herself and shook his shoulders so he could awaken.

"Suzie! You're back!" he hugged her.

"Look, I need to tell you something. Something you are not going to be pleased with." She took his hands. "Simon and I are engaged."

"Oh."

"I know."

"How… pleasant. Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Does he love you?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"I can be engaged and be friends with you at the same time. In fact, we aren't friends. We're soul mates. I've found out that being someone's soul mate is quite different from being his or her lover. I've known you forever Sirius. You'll always be a part of me, no matter how much I love Simon." She kissed his cheek.

He closed his eyes. "One more kiss. One more kiss before I realize I can never be with you." She obliged.

"Good night, Suzie." He whispered.

"Good night, Sirius." She whispered back leaving a folded note in his lap.

_Sirius, _

_I know, that whatever I say, whatever I do, I know that we can never be together. Not in the way you wish. I love you, Sirius, but it is more like you're a part of me, like you're my twin. We will always be together, whether it is as friends, frenemies, or enemies. I do not care. You are so important to me, so much so that it is like a soap opera. I hope you can forgive me, because, if you don't, I'll never forgive myself for loving Simon. No guilt intended, only statements. _

_Love, _

_Red_

He held the letter in his hand. He loved her. He always would. Was it because he had spent so many years nursing the fact that he'd eventually be there for her? He was Suzie's Duckie, not her Blane. He would take her to the prom when Blane was a jackass, but in the end, he would have to realized that Suzie was in love with Blane, not with him.

* * *

_! Author's Notes! Blane and Duckie were taken from the movie: Pretty in Pink. Here's a key for who the characters are which character in this story equals them._

_Andie (smart girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Is played by Molly Ringwald): Suzie_

_Duckie (the strange, but yet completely sweet best friend of Andie who has had a crush on her forever. Is played by Jon Cyer. _

_Blane (the rich guy who is in love with Andie. Is played by Andrew McCarthy): Simon _


	23. Chp 23: Sincerely Yours, Jonathan Harker

_! Author's Notes! There's only a little ways to go until "1978" begins! I can't wait!!!!! I don't even know how I'm going to wrap this all up... Happy April Fools! _

* * *

Sincerely Yours, Jonathan Harker

It was raining like hell as students struggled to reach their Common Rooms. Suzie, Lily, Lucy, Remus, and Peter were bunched together. James and Sirius were serving detention for kidnapping Mrs. Norris and hanging her by her paws from the Great Hall ceiling. It was a way for James to get back at Filch for taking away the Marauder's map, but it was a way for Sirius to blow off steam.

Lucy and Lily had reacted with giggles and squeals when receiving the 'pleasant' news, but were of course, sensitive about why Suzie wasn't wearing a ring. Simon's letters were filled with pleads of letting him buy her a ring, but she only replied with: _I'll get one when a dude comes up to me and starts flirting. Then, I will tell him to go give himself a thrill in the women's loo. Then, I will tell you all about it and order you to go and pick me out a simple, plain engagement ring. Okay? _

Suzie made an umbrella appear. Now, there's an important fact about Susanna Donnelly that I, as the author, have neglected to tell you. She does not use a wand. Unlike many magical folk, her magic is concentrated in her mind and it is not easily twisted, so she has never used a wand and has never owned one in her entire life. This has drawn a lot of attention towards her. And because I despise suspense, I will tell you that because of Suzie's wandless gift, her brother, Tommy became a werewolf.

I have also brought up Tommy quite a bit… well, that's because he was paying a visit to his two sisters that very rainy, torrential day.

* * *

"Lucy! Suzie!" a curly haired young man with giggling chocolate brown eyes and wormy pink scars covering his otherwise smiling face spoke in a booming, attentive voice. This was Tommy Donnelly. 

"Tommy!" Lucy shrieked, hugging her brother tightly. "Did you hear about Suzie? She's engaged!" Tommy's eyes lit up as he hugged his youngest sister.

"When will I meet this lucky gentleman?" asked Tommy.

"He's a muggle, so it'll take some explaining. His name is Simon Costello, he's a musician, and I'm utterly in love with him."

Tommy tutted. "How does our dear old Jacob feel about this?"

Suzie smirked. "He doesn't know."

"That's my sister." Tommy hugged Suzie as well.

"My has she grown up." Commented Tommy as Suzie took off to her Common Room. He was speaking to Lucy.

"Don't I know it. Now, what is your reasoning for popping up all of a sudden?" Lucy asked, hands on hips.

Tommy did not want to lie to his sister after so many years, but he had to. "I've been released from my duties to the pack. I am a free man and I've wanted to see my two favorite sisters for many, many years. Now, tell me all about George." And Lucy did.

* * *

_Dear Simon, _

_You've never met my brother Tommy, have you? Well, he's just come to visit today and I'm a little confused and a little happy. He's my half-brother though, just so you know. It's a long, terrible story that I'll explain sooner or later. He's older then Lucy and me. He's 23 and I haven't seen him since forever. Maybe a little more than 6 years. Horrible, right? Well, it's only the beginning. Now, I'm going to go send Hoots off with this and go question Tommy a bit. By the way, he wants to meet you. _

_Love, _

_Suzie_

* * *

"What are you doing here?" Suzie asked Tommy once Lucy scooted off for her date with George. 

"Whoa. This isn't an interrogation, Suzie." He laughed, holding out his hands.

"Tell me," she tilted her head a little.

"You want the truth?"

"Yes."

His shoulders collapsed. "I can't Suzie."

"Did you know Jacob was in the mafia?"

"No."

"Liar!"

"I'm not lying, Suzie."

"Then why won't you tell me why you're here?" Tommy was desperate to get a little slack from his sister, but he knew it wouldn't come.

"Because, then I'd have to kill you." He tried his best to lessen the tension.

"No. It's because _I'd _have to kill _you_." Man was she right.

"Can we just forget about all the details? I'm here now, okay." Suzie's face softened a little. She was giving in. She missed her brother too much.

"Do you still want to meet Simon?" she asked. He nodded.

* * *

Simon was at the penthouse, practicing with the new bassist, Freddie Churchill. The music was chillingly different and better then before. Danni was beginning to show already and she was patting her stomach gingerly to the thrumming of the music. Simon's eyes brightened when he saw her. 

"I take it he's the one singing." Tommy said.

"How'd you know?"

Tommy shrugged. "It's the way he looks at you." The two siblings smiled at each other as Danni waddled over.

"You aren't that big yet, Danni." Suzie laughed.

"I'm just practicing." She snapped. "Who are you?"

"I'm Suzie's brother, Tommy."

"Oh. Good. I might have beaten the shit out of you. I'm Danni Fairchild-Rodgers. Drummer's wife." The two shook hands and Suzie concentrated on the bassist.

He was tall and dorky-looking, but he could play. He still had pimples, but they weren't mountainous or anything, in fact, they looked quite adorable on his lovely face. His eyes were large and were a foamy green color. He wore plain, vintage t-shirts and the same jeans everyday. His shoes varied from combat boots to his black, red, and white trainers depending on his mood. He had a slight Mohawk, but it didn't look the least bit threatening on him. Suzie liked Freddie Churchill immediately.

The band stopped playing and Stewie clapped slowly. "Good, good." He echoed over and over again.

Simon whoosh over and kissed her lovingly. "This is your brother, Tommy, right?" he asked breathlessly. "Your mum sent over the letter immediately."

The two shook hands. "Good to meet you Simon."

"You too, Tommy."

"Are you and my sister going to get married?"

"Yup."

"Wedding?"

Suzie jumped in. "Hell no."

"Ditto."

"You're a good man." Tommy clapped Simon on the back. Suzie could tell they were going to get along quite well. "But, if you break Suzie's heart. I'm going to break your neck."

Simon laughed. "Are you a wizard too?"

"Not exactly…"

"He's a werewolf." Suzie said. Tommy's eyes grew wide. Simon held up his hand. "I'm not surprised. Only interested really. You know, which legends are true or not. I can't wait for Suzie to introduce me to my first vampire, though."

Suzie looked at Tommy in the 'I told you so' way.

"You're a good man, Simon Costello. And a lucky one." Tommy said again.

"I know." And Simon kissed Suzie on the cheek. "I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too," she replied under her breath so only Simon could catch it.


	24. Chp 24: Sweet Jane

Sweet Jane

Three weeks until graduation. Finals were brutal, friendships were bound together, and the sweet memories of childhood were penetrating. Questions murdered, over protective family members hounded their graduating relatives, and professors were slacking off much to their students' relief.

Suzie Donnelly was oddly reserved and Lily Evans was oddly hyperactive. Maybe it was because the Marauders (Padfoot, Prongs, Moony, Red, and Wormtail) had introduced her to alcohol, but it was more likely the cause of her growing relationship with James. He was already planning on asking Lily's parents if he could propose.

As for Suzie and Simon's engagement announcements, Jacob and his new wife, Kelly had found out because of Tommy's big mouth. Lucy had told Natalie who leaked the information to Tim and Felicity. Felicity was holding a grudge against her daughter for not immediately spilling her guts after Simon popped the question. Simon had told his parents ahead of time and they were ecstatic to welcome Suzie into their family. None of them knew what Simon and Suzie were planning. There would be no wedding. Now white dress for Suzie, no drunken speech from Gates (as he was going to be the best man), no bachelor antics or strip-club touring for Simon and his groomsmen, no bachelorette partying for Suzie, and definitely no embarrassing first dance or stupid congratulations or tears.

* * *

"Guess who made valedictorian!" Lily shouted happily, flinging herself onto her bed.

"You." Suzie said, looking up from her book.

"And Remus! How wonderful is that?"

"Supremely." Most of the time, Lily could be too giddy and happy for her own good.

"What's your problem?" sniffed Lily.

"You."

"Oh."

"Where did the quiet, studious, grounded Lily go? I remember her, I was best friends with her. Not this bubbly, alcohol-drinking, chattering, girly beast!" now Suzie was pissed.

Lily pouted. "You know how James gave up his spirit and troublemaking for me. So I guess, I sub-consciously decided that I need to remake myself. To make myself more like the girls that fling themselves at James." She shrugged.

"Stop. If James fell in love with reserved Lily, then he still loves her. The only thing you're doing is scaring the shit out of me."

* * *

Later on that day, Lucy and Suzie met up outside. It was Lucy's time to shine, Suzie knew this. Lucy had been a late bloomer, a year late to be exact. The day Suzie received her acceptance letter to Hogwarts, was the first day Lucy preformed magic. She had proven the family wrong, that she wasn't a squib.

"I'm proud of you, Lucy." Suzie said. They were walking around the lake.

Lucy smiled. "I've decided to join you on your Asia exploration, if you don't mind. George and I need a break and I think traveling will do me good."

Suzie was blown away. "You and George broke up?"

Lucy's smile faded. "No, we're taking time apart."

"Oh."

"Don't look so down-hearted!" Lucy squeezed her sister's shoulders. "Everything's good this year. We're graduating soon. I've refilled that job for you with Uncle Bob. I've even found a position for you at the Daily Prophet. You'll be working for Amelia Waterford." If Suzie would've been one of those girls who squeal, she would've squealed long and hard. Amelia Waterford was the best journalist of her time. Undoubtedly, she was one of Suzie's biggest inspirations. How Lucy swung that, she had no clue.

"When Simon and I go out for drinks tonight, you have to come with us. I'll even get the Marauders and Lily to tag along." Suzie knew Simon wouldn't mind, he was just that kind of guy.

"Absolutely."

* * *

When Suzie asked James, Remus, and Sirius to tag along, she had to admit, she was a little nervous. Peter was a big minus since he was in the hospital wing after being cursed into oblivion by the Slytherins.

James and Remus were up for anything that involved escaping the school's dreariness, but Sirius was more reluctant. "You can go by an alias." Suggested Suzie.

"How 'bout Sirius?" suggested Sirius.

"Fine by me." Suzie was a little miffed by Sirius' attitude, but she couldn't help but feel gladdened by him tagging along.

Lily was almost as eager as James and Remus, if not more so. Suzie's stomach was doing flips. Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Lucy, and Simon. The most important people in her life. Together. In one room. Speaking. Hopefully.

* * *

Simon was limping. Why? Because Bobby had dropped an amp on his foot. "It's fine." He kept telling Suzie, laughing. Suzie also thought the limp was hilarious. Simon and James were getting along quite well, Remus was his withdrawn self, Lucy and Lily were chatting up a storm, and Sirius was just damn right unpleasant. Suzie would've kicked him out if not for the fact that Simon would've been on her case about it for years to come.

Simon only had two drinks, which Suzie was glad for. He didn't smoke up a storm, in fact, he didn't pick up one cigarette. He did swear his head off though. Typical Simon Costello. The topic of the engagement didn't come up once. The Asia trip did. By the end of it all, Simon, Lucy, Lily, Suzie, and James were all going. Simon for Suzie, James for Lily, and Lucy to get away from George.

They headed back to the castle at about midnight. They all complained about how Suzie had held them up by making out with Simon too long. This resulted with severe bruising on James' right cheek from both Lily and Suzie.

Just before going to bed, Lily and Suzie had the following conversation:

"Do you love him like you love Sirius?" – Lily

"No," – Suzie

"How do you love Sirius?" – Lily

"Like… I don't know, Lily. Can we just go to bed?" – Suzie

"How do you know if you love someone?" – Lily

"It varies." – Suzie

"How did you know that you were in love with Simon?" – Lily

"He's like a drug and I'm the addict." – Suzie

"How did you know that you were in love with Sirius?" – Lily

"He's always been there. I guess he was like a fall-back plan for me all along." – Suzie

"How lovely." – Lily

"Can we just go to sleep now?" – Suzie

"One more question." – Lily

"What?" – Suzie

"Are you really going to marry Simon?" – Lily

"Yes." – Suzie

"Are you going to have a wedding?" – Lily

"I thought you said only one more question." – Suzie.

"It's a two-parter." – Lily

"No." – Suzie.

"Why not?" – Lily

"Go to fucking bed Lily!" – Suzie

"Good night fucking Suzie." – Lily.

"Yah, yah." – Suzie


	25. Chp 25: Working Class Hero

_! Author's Notes ! This is a pretty short chapter. It's only 520 words! I have about three or four chapters left of this story. The next will take place when they all come home from Asia. This chapter was originally going to steam things up between Suzie and Sirius, but I canceled that because it seemed a tad bit too much like rape. _

* * *

Working Class Hero

Back flips and nothingness, nothingness and back flips. Hunger and sleepiness. Drunkenness and bastardliness. Soul and tackiness. Tassels and ribbons. Memories and regrets. Pride and prejudice. Cowards and heroes. Money and poverty. Punishments and rewards. Susanna and Jacob.

She did her best to ignore him, to block the presence in her classroom. Suzie wanted to knock him out with the barrel of his own gun. The man was a murderer and he was lecturing her entire year on how important their choice in occupation is. He was apparently a retired Auror, which he was, but he was also something else.

The lecture was soon spread too thinly and conversation was running low. "Any questions?" asked Jacob for the umpteenth time. Suzie was tempted to raise her hand, but she knew, despite her wants, that family was important. If she wouldn't rat out Tommy to the Ministry, she wouldn't rat out her father to the world.

"Good luck!" Jacob shouted after the scattering group.

Suzie could feel Sirius' breath on her neck as he pulled her swiftly aside. "Are you an Jacob fighting?"   
"Yup."

"You should apologize for whatever stupid thing you did."

"Why do you care?"

"Because… because…"

"Because you shouldn't even fucking give a damn?"

"I should give a fucking damn, Suzie!"

"Why then?"

"Because."

"Just because?"

"I don't want to fight with you, Suzie. It's too hard to imagine that just a week away from graduation that we'd have a huge blow out." He placed a gentle hand on her forearm.

"You are correct. Therefore, there will be further mentions of Jacob Donnelly."

Sirius remained grudgingly stubborn. "Okay, Suzie." He hummed.

Suzie smacked him on his arm. "Stop being so happy." She couldn't help but still smile.

"Alcoholism's a bitch." Sneered Earl Marx, chugging his beer. Did I mention Earl's liver was malfunctioning from severe amounts of alcohol?

"No doubt about it, Marx." Annabelle clinked her bottle of Vodka with his beer can and drank the liquid like it was going out of style.

This was the 7th year Gryffindor party's way of celebrating: drinks, loud music, and a whole lot of boredom besides Leo Kirk getting so drunk he started to streak. They had kicked out everyone but the 7th years so luckily, Leo's girlfriend, Naomi wasn't there to witness her boyfriend's extreme embarrassment.

James had his arms around Lily sweetly; he kissed her again and again. Sirius and Suzie, the lone duo were together again, leaning back against the walls, holding untouched glasses of wine in their hands. "I'm going to New York." Sirius finally said.

"Good for you." Suzie replied, looking regretfully at her beverage.

"Asia and New York." Sung Sirius.

"Suzie and Sirius." Suzie said back, clinking their glasses together. They both tilted back their heads, drinking together.

"Hey, Suzie."

"Yes, Sirius?"

"I don't want to go to New York."

"And…"

"I want to go to Asia with you guys." He sounded like a five-year-old.

"Then come."

"Just making sure it's all good with you."

"And so, it is." She smiled toothily at him, making his stomach muscles tighten.


	26. Chp 26: Fascination Street

_! Author's Notes ! I'm pulling out my hair (not literally) but I sort of am. I don't want this particular tale to end and there is two chapters left! I wanted to post the last one on Easter, but you, know that's not such a brilliant idea, so I won't even bother. I'll post the last one on Thursday/Friday and the new story should be up by at least next Monday (April 9th). For the record, Finals suck. And the lyrics are to The Cure's Fascination Street.  
_

* * *

Fascination Street

Oh it's opening time  
down on fascination street  
so let's cut the conversation  
and get out for a bit  
because I feel it all fading and paling  
and I'm begging  
to drag you down with me   
to kick the last nail in  
yeah! I like you in that  
like I like you to scream  
but if you open your mouth  
then I can't be responsible  
for quite what goes in  
or to care what comes out   
so just pull on your hair  
just pull on your pout  
and let's move to the beat  
like we know that it's over  
if you slip going under  
slip over my shoulder  
so just pull on your face  
just pull on your feet  
and let's hit opening time  
down on fascination street

so pull on your hair  
pull on your pout   
cut the conversation  
just open your mouth  
pull on your face  
pull on your feet  
and let's hit opening time  
down on fascination street

* * *

Suzie took a deep breath of the muggy air. Her hair was standing on end, her stomach was churning, her palms were sweating, her face was getting redder by the second, and her eyes were bulging. Graduation Fever had swooped down on Susanna Donnelly greatly and she couldn't be less pleased if she tried. 

The good thing, though, according to Sirius, was that she managed to get her face to stop radiating so much, pull bag her hair in a manageable manner, and focus on anything but who she so desperately wanted to see: Simon. He was a muggle, but he was her fiancé and he wouldn't be present. He wasn't the cheering on type of guy who whipped out his camera to capture everything to look back on. Felicity, Natalie, and Tim were all there though, snapping photographs like mad people with cheesy parental smiles plastered on their faces. Natalie was waving a "Go Suzie!" flag around like a rabid football (soccer) fan.

The names rolled by, Sirius squeezed Suzie's hand before strutting to the podium and accepting his degree from Dumbledore who shook his hand eagerly. Suzie's name popped up and, to her delight, the nerves stopped. Her hands stopped shaking. Simon was there, smoking a cigarette and in his motorcycle jacket, but Simon was there. Suzie felt ridiculous now, in her swishy, blue robes, wearing a yellow tassel as she took her place besides Sirius.

"He's here." Sirius whispered from the corner of his mouth.

"I know."

"Are you happy?"

"I don't know. A mixture really. Angry, depressed, happy, glad, relieved, hopeful, frightened, excited, joyful, but sad mostly. We're leaving, Sirius. After seven whole years! Think about the nights, the days, the laughs, the cries, the fights, everything! We're leaving Hogwarts. We're leaving?" Suzie was shell-shocked. She wanted to crawl back into her bed and lie in the lovely hazy glow that was surely glowing from the window besides her four-poster bed. There was no beating time, she was doomed to get older, to die eventually.

"We'll come back, Suzie. We'll always come back." He soothed gently.

"What should I do, Sirius? Auror, journalist, roadie, professor? There's so many choices!" she was officially having a melt down as they walked the long way down the steps. She could feel her head splitting open, Sirius and Lily's hands supporting her from in front and back.

Simon, Sirius, Lily, James, Peter, Remus, Natalie, Tim, Felicity, Annabelle, Tommy, Freddie, Danni, Bobby, Kevin, Gates, Diana, Earl, Jacob, Kelly Smith, Jenna Kelly, Stewie, Lucy, George, Dumbledore, Lucius, Voldemort, Susanna, Suzie. Everything blurred and fuzzed, Suzie regained control of herself.

It was clear and cool again. She was hugging Lucy as she looked longingly at George. Tommy was there, off into his own corner. Simon was too laid back to step forward himself, Sirius was with James' family as they hugged and kissed him on the cheek as much as they did with their own son, their own flesh and blood. Kelly Smith and Jacob were there too, trying to get eye contact with their daughter and stepdaughter.

"My sister's an adult!" Natalie shrieked, hugging Suzie tightly. She was so tiny.

"What about me?" asked Lucy, her eyes still on George.

Natalie bit her bottom lip. "You've always been adult." Everyone but Lucy laughed.

"I'll be back, okay?" Suzie shoved her way through the crowd.

"My little graduate." Simon chuckled, his voice throatier then normal.

"My big thug." Suzie hugged and kissed him.

"Do your parents have anything planned?" He asked. Typical Simon, too mellow to take Suzie away from her family, but too eager not to ask.

"No. They've left the night up to me. And I choose you." She tapped his chest playfully with her finger and kissed him again.

Someone cleared his or her throat from behind the snogging couple. Jacob Donnelly. Simon reigned Suzie back from going ballistic on her father.

"I just wanted to say I am sorry, Suzie. I have given up on my past playboy days. I am content with Kelly, I am content with you, Lucy, and Tommy, and little Melinda---."

"Melinda? Is Kelly Smith fucking pregnant?" Suzie nearly laughed out loud.

"No. Melinda is Kelly's child from her previous marriage." Jacob rocked from heel to toe, heel to toe. Back and forth.

"Oh."

"I'll leave you two alone, now." He scuttled off, utterly uncomfortable.

"How's the foot?" asked Suzie, attaching herself to Simon again.

"Better… it'll cured if you come back to the flat with me." Simon whispered huskily, his breath hot and heavy on Suzie's neck and ear. He bit her ear quickly.

"I can't Simon," she said, pushing his gently away with her palms.

Simon pouted. "Pretty please…"

"I'm not going to have sex with you just because you're stressed." She said.

"And your not?" he rose an eyebrow.

"I am… but I'm not in the mood, Simon." She separated herself from him rather ungracefully as she stumbled back on the tip of her shoe.

Simon laughed, catching her by her elbow. "I can see that."

"I love you Simon Costello." She patted his cheek and slipped the pack of cigarettes from his jacket.

"Hey! Suzie, I love you like hell, but I need my fucking cigarettes!" Simon laughed, attempting to snatch them from her grasp. They disappeared in a cloud of smoke, courtesy of Suzie.

"It's me or the cigarettes."

"Fine, I'll quit if that's what you want." He laughed again.

"Thank you!" She kissed him on his lips and on both cheeks.

"Just one once and while." Simon pleaded.

"When would once and while be?"

"Now."

"Then no."

"Fine, _mother_."

"Since when have you listened to your mother?"

"Since I moved out and fell in love with you and then decided to call you my mother just then."

"Whatever dickhead." You would expect Suzie to turn and leave at this point, but she did not. In fact, she skipped into her Dormitory and changed into normal clothing. Fraying jeans, a minty green tank top with white polka dots, a black fitted jacket, and her worn fake leather boots.

Sirius was waiting for her in the Common room, tie loose, hair crumpled, smile lopsided, hands in pockets. "Just wanted to say good-bye," he said, stopping her from moving onwards.

"Why? I'm going to see you in another week for the trip."

"I know, I just wanted to say good-bye."

"Alright. Good-bye Sirius Black."

He put his foot in front of hers to immobilize her. "I want a proper good-bye." He said sneakily.

"Don't make me smack you!" Suzie joked, hugging him all the same. He kept his hands where they belonged. "Where are you going, may I ask?"

"James'."

"His house is three blocks away from mine."

"Not from Simon's it isn't."

"Right, I live there now." Silence.

"Good-bye Suzie,"

"Good-bye Sirius,"


	27. Chp 27: Time After Time

_! AUTHOR'S NOTES ! I am a liar. I said this would be up later, but I can't resist. The final chapter will be up soon. Probably immediately after this. Damn.

* * *

_

Time After Time

Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick,  
and think of you  
caught up in circles confusion--  
is nothing new  
Flashback--warm nights--   
almost left behind  
suitcases of memories,

time after--

sometimes you picture me--  
I'm walking too far ahead   
you're calling to me, I can't hear  
what you've said--  
Then you say--go slow--  
I fall behind--  
the second hand unwinds

chorus:  
if you're lost you can look--and you will find me   
time after time  
if you fall I will catch you--I'll be waiting   
time after time

after my picture fades and darkness has   
turned to gray  
watching through windows--you're wondering  
if I'm OK  
secrets stolen from deep inside  
the drum beats out of time--

chorus:  
if you're lost...

you said go slow--  
I fall behind  
the second hand unwinds--

chorus:   
if you're lost...  
...time after time  
time after time   
time after time  
time after time

"I can't believe my baby's leaving home!" Felicity crushed Suzie in her wiry arms.

"I do believe _I'm _the baby of the family," Natalie joked, flipping through the TV channels. Suzie pushed her sunglasses on and smiled her most brilliant smile.

"I'll be sure to take loads of pictures and call you at every stop even though Lily will surely complain." Suzie sat down on her suitcases. Rather then dropping everything off at Simon's and bringing half of it on the Asia trip, she was taking the half with her to the Asia trip and leaving the rest in her bedroom.

"Don't eat any dangerous-looking food!" Warned Felicity as Simon's car pulled up. At the last moment, he had decided to drop out of the adventure. Typical Simon Costello.

"I won't mum!" Suzie waved, dragging her two cases behind her. It was a warm, lovely, and sugary day that had both a smell and taste. It was glorious. It was delectable. It was Suzie Donnelly's kind of day.

Simon opened the door for her despite his limp and tossed her bags carefully in the back seat. "I have some questions for you, my darling." He said, turning down the radio and starting up the car.

"Shoot."

"When we get married, are you going to keep 'Donnelly' or are you going to become Suzie Costello?"

"Neither. It'll be the complete thing: Susanna Rose Donnelly-Costello with a hyphen." Suzie herself had asked herself that question many times.

"Are we going to move?"

"Not if you don't want to."

"Are you going to let me teach you how to drive?"

"If you want to."

"When are we going to elope?"

"When the moment beckons it!"

"What about kids?"

"I want to adopt." This was a new thing for Suzie.

"Sounds good. Why add to the worlds population?"  
"Exactly." She hummed pleasantly.

"Can I give you your ring now?" he pointed to the glove compartment.

"I'm going to Asia. Why the hell not." Suzie would not let on how important this was to her. Having a ring on her finger was like sealing the envelope. The engagement was writing the letter, telling the folks was licking it, the ring was sealing it, and the wedding/elopement was the shipping it off.

Simon pulled off to the side lane to slip the ring on her finger like a proper fiancé. "Can I call you my-fiancé-Simon now?" asked Suzie, loving the way the light glinted off of the silver band. There was no bulk to it, just the way she wanted it. There was only one diamond and it was set into the silver already.

"Do you like it?" he asked, taking a new exit.

"Deeply."

"I'm dropping you off at 118 Manchester Avenue, right? And we should have our proper good-byes a little down the street, shouldn't we?"

"Of course. That'd be the polite thing to do."

And so, Suzie and Simon snogged a little ways down from the Potters' mansion. It took at least a good ten minutes and that made Suzie late, but she didn't want to leave Simon behind. "I love you, Susanna Rose Donnelly-Costello." He said, their foreheads and noses touching.

"I love you more." She kissed him quickly and opened the car door.

"I'll walk you up." He was eager for another kiss, just like he was on their first date.

"Whatever lover boy." She heaved up one of her bags while leaving the other, heavier one to Simon.

"Call me three times a week." Simon puffed on the way up the driveway.

"I promise."

"And don't speak to any men with foreign accents."

"Ah… Simon!" she snapped her fingers.

"Sorry for being such an over-protective fiancé."

She kissed him swiftly and charmed the bags to move themselves into the house. "Are you going to be, okay?" asked Suzie, brushing his bangs out from his eyes.

"Lonely, dirty, filthy, and eager to touch you again. Yes, I'm going to be okay."

"No women, okay?"

"I solemnly swear to it capt'n!"

They hugged one last time. "Wait for me!" Suzie said dramatically.

"I'll always be here, Susanna!" he waved as she shut the door behind her. Three Cheers for Sweet Love.


	28. Chp 28: Time of your Life

Time of your Life (Good Riddance)

Another turning point;  
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;  
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test  
and don't ask why.

It's not a question  
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable  
but in the end it's right.  
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs  
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf  
in good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories  
and dead skin on trial.

For what it's worth,  
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable  
but in the end it's right.  
I hope you had the time of your life.

(music break)

It's something unpredictable  
but in the end it's right.  
I hope you had the time of your life.

It's something unpredictable  
but in the end it's right.  
I hope you had the time of your life.

* * *

_Love is a difficult thing. I should know, I've fallen in and out and have roamed every space it has allowed me to roam. Love makes you sick to your stomach, it crushes you, it lifts you back up, it pats you on the back, it offers you second chances, it is more humane then you could ever believe. _

_I can't believe so many years have gone by. The memories are bitter, like lemons. I can remember the day of my sorting at Hogwarts. It was dank and swampy in the Great Hall and my cloak was a new thing for me, something I wasn't quite used to yet. Everyone in the room had a wand, but me. I didn't need one. This was a very strange thing for me and it made me stammer and blush whenever anyone asked me about my peculiar talents. Just before Sirius Black, my best friend at the time, was called up to the Sorting Hat, he had given my hand a squeeze like he always does before we embark on a new journey together. It was then, that I realized maybe Sirius didn't think he was just my friend. I began to worry. _

_I worried and fretted until Sirius found a new group of friends. They dubbed themselves The Marauders and became infamous for the good looks and troublemaking skills. Girls of all ages flocked to The Marauders' leaders: Sirius and James Potter, the closest of the foursome. Sirius was a flirt, I soon realized as well. He rolled in the lavish attention. _

_I found a new friend myself, my first female friend. Lily Evans. She was James Potter's crush and she hated him. Lily didn't swear, she didn't enjoy the dangerous side of life, she was studious and very bright intellect-wise. She was also a muggle-born student. I couldn't have been happier with my new best friend. _

_Sirius did not disappear from my life, in fact, I believe in a way, he became a stronger influence. I soon learned to love the Marauders as my brothers. They were funny and they provided balance to my stormy home life. _

_My older sister, Lucy, hadn't started to do magic until the day my acceptance letter to Hogwarts arrived. I think the pressure had mounted and she had seen her chance to escape her own bindings of being called a squib all of her life. I had set the boundaries for Lucy by performing magic first, for being myself. _

_My parents divorced. My father, Jacob Donnelly, is a bastard. He was caught cheating. My mother, Felicity Liam remarried a wonderful man, my stepfather, Timothy Welsh. Together, Tim and Felicity had my half sister, Natalie. To this day, I wonder what's it like to know about magic, but not be able to touch it or perform it. Is Natalie jealous of Lucy and I? Or is she glad she does not have to restrictions that we do? _

_I have a half-brother, Tommy. He is Jacob's son from his marriage before Felicity. Tommy's a werewolf. After being bitten, Jacob hid him in caves until Lucy and I found out about our half brother. I would like to think that we came to his rescue. I guess we did, in a weird sort of way. Lucy desperately wanted to learn how to become an Animagus so we could accompany Tommy during his transformations. I succeeded almost immediately and had turned into a fox. I had to perform the magic for Lucy, but I had to secretive about it. I could-and-still-can't bring myself to tell Lucy that I have always made her an Animagus, not her. _

_I met my fiancé, Simon Costello, when I was fourteen. This was before he made it big as a musician/singer. He taught me how to play the piano and during one of those lessons, he kissed me. It was the best kiss I had ever experienced and still have, to this very day. I continued to see Simon despite his being a muggle and my being a witch and always being away at Hogwarts. I snuck out every Tuesday and Saturday to see him. Oh, there was another 'big' difference between Simon and I, when I was fourteen, he was seventeen. The three-year difference made a lot of people uneasy, Sirius and Lily included. Despite all of this, we made it as a couple and made the relationship work… until I came out to him about being a witch. _

_Back then, Simon was a heavy drinker and druggie. He liked his crack way too much and was always drunk or high. The night I told him, he was slightly both. He went ballistic and threw a beer bottle at my face and it smashed, causing a gash on my cheek. It scarred over and I still carry it with me everyday, it is a heavy reminder of the biggest mistake of my life. I entered Simon into rehab and broke it off with him for a while. This was all when I was 16. Simon was 19. _

_After Christmas vacation, right before I turned 17, Simon popped back into my life. I was going out with Sirius at the time, he was painfully in love with me and vice versa. Simon was sorry and he had written a song about me with his band, King of the Jungle "Weeping Willows". I was grateful and stupid enough to take him back. Not stupid, though, foolish. _

_Once I saw him, I fell under the Simon Costello curse once more. I kissed him. Sirius found out. Sirius got punch drunk and rummaged through my things and had sex with another girl. I kissed Simon. Sirius nailed Jenna Kelly. I was crushed. Sirius was shattered. _

_Simon and I grew together once more. I was still in love with Sirius. It's a long story and I think I should stop here. You should know the rest. _

_However, I will answer a few of my own questions: _

_Am I still in love with Sirius? _

_No. _

_Why am I not still in love with Sirius? _

_Because it is no longer fair to Simon. _

_I miss Sirius, though. I miss him as a partner, I miss the spot he used to fill. No matter how hard Simon tries, he will never manage to fill the spot Sirius created. Never._

_ Love, _

_ Suzie  
_


End file.
